Guilty Nightmares, Devoting Kicks
by mihiatus
Summary: Karin takes after her brother in spirit and body, and with friends at her side, she seems to think everything is possible. Concerned about his nightmares that seem harder to wake up from, Karin's informed about Hitsugaya's childhood friend.
1. Prologue

Title: Guilty Nightmares, Devoting Kicks

Summary: Kurosaki Karin takes after her brother; short tempered, powerful, understanding, rude, yet determined. She's determined to become what her brother became by going to the shinigami academy in Seireitei, and then become a powerful shinigami, exactly like her brother. While she becomes prey at the academy with Kuchiki Rukia, her relief at the end of the day is with her friends. One of them, specifically, makes her happy; brilliant soccer player, Hitsugaya Toshiro. Hitsugaya's mind wanders from Karin to Hinamori, wondering what they've created in his life. Rukia's unfazed charisma is suddenly cracked open with the sudden announcement of Ichigo and Inoue's 'relationship.'

Pairings: Karin/Hitsugaya Hinamori/Hitsugaya Rukia/Ichigo Inoue/Ichigo

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach…Sadly…

Prologue:

"Matsumoto, I want to know where Kira is…" A long deep sigh followed. "Scratch that; Matsumoto, grab Abarai and Kira when you find them for me. Also, if my suspicions are correct, and Abarai's around, Kurosaki and Kuchiki-san are also with them. Please escort them all back into my office." There was a slight twist, as the chair spun to the side a bit, facing the glass window. "Now that I think of Rukia-san, Captain Kuchiki has an amazing ability to avoid completing or receiving any paperwork or the arrangements for training or combat, unlike the majority of the other captains. Mainly, me. This is, I will honestly admit, one of the aspects I admire about him. Although you, Matsumoto, seem to have acquired Captain Kuchiki's….certain willfulness to avoid any paperwork handed to you as well." Wisps of shockingly translucent blue-white locks hung over his aquamarine eyes, almost shut as he uttered these words.

Matsumoto almost let out a tiny chuckle. Her captain was aggravated. Aggravation and fury weren't exactly the two ingredients that made her captain blissfully happy, either. She giggled a bit, and Captain Hitsugaya tensed in his spinning chair. Sitting only a few feet away from this too serious child was very amusing, when you were drunk. Matsumoto had come back from a party a few hours ago, where she hadn't given a shit about being sober. Although not completely clear-headed, she had enough common sense to see that this wasn't the time to object or be stubborn. Aimlessly, she began to lean onto her captain's desk and pout a little, while staring at him. She always wondered why he had to be so serious.

Although it took a few moments, Captain Hitsugaya felt the silence to be a little strange. He twirled around and found the peculiar image of a large chested woman gazing drunkenly at him. Although momentarily enraged and annoyed that his lieutenant had no capability to stay above the influence, he proceeded on, clearing his throat and shuffling through a few papers, moving the ones closest to Matsumoto.

"Anyhow, Matsumoto, do you understand? I want to meet with Kira about some unfinished paperwork, Abarai about his work schedule, and how it concerns a certain Kuchiki." Sucking in a breath of air that lingered around Matsumoto, he concluded with certainty that in a short amount of time, she would be conked out and rapidly forgetting the whole conversation. His fingers sifted through his desk's drawers until he pulled out a bottle of pills. Popping it open, he shook a black pill out.

Matsumoto smiled again. For the first time in their conversation, she spoke. "Captain Hitsugaya, I don't think I need to take the sake pills. I really don't want to, anyway." Her voice went up a few pitches. She stumbled up and waved a little at the captain. "I'll be leaving now…" She nearly got to the door, when the white flicker sprinted in front of her, forcibly opened her mouth, and made her consume the capsule. Before letting go of Matsumoto, he handed her a note and articulated very quietly, "When you wake up with a headache tomorrow, read the note and do exactly what's on it." A few seconds later, he was back at his desk, contemplating how much of Matsumoto's paperwork he would have to give to Kira.

oOo

Yoruichi Shihouin was having trouble with self control. Jinta, the red-haired bully was trying to bully Karin, the orange-haired hothead's sister. Karin decided to live with Urahara, knowing that Yoruichi would be going back to Soul Society in a matter of days, after her brother. She was constantly fighting with Yoruichi, saying how she didn't care about school and normal life; and seeing as her father and brother were both shinigami, it was only a matter of time before she would gain powers too. She had firmly decided that she would go to Seireitei with Yoruichi, attend the academy that Rukia had told her about, and become a lieutenant or captain, to support her brother, Rukia, etc.

It wasn't that Yoruichi couldn't see how Karin was going to become a powerful shinigami; it was just that Karin was Ichigo's sister. Anything associated with Kurosaki Ichigo was going to be hard to handle, especially if the girl's growth was as amazing as her brother's. What would the thirteen divisions do? What if Karin died in Soul Society? What if Ichigo found out about Karin's decisions? Among the few people in Seireitei that Karin knew, she admired nearly all of them. Rukia-san was her best buddy; Ichigo was her brother; Renji, the bald guy, and the guy with girl-hair and huge eyelashes were all so funny and gullible; Lieutenant Matsumoto…. Was Lieutenant Matsumoto, and Toshiro/Captain Hitsugaya was freaking awesome at soccer.

Urahara walked out onto the porch and pronounced out loud, "Yoruichi-san, you and Karin are ready to go to Seireitei, right? In a few hours, the gates will be open again." Karin snapped out of her quarrel with Jinta and gave a watery smile at Urahara, to which he replied, "Karin-chan, how long do you propose to stay in Seireitei?" His eyes grew a little steely as he said this. Yoruichi's first flicker of hope began to burn, thinking that if Karin wasn't able to stand the shinigami training, then she'd be back immediately.

"Urahara-san, Nii-san's clumsy, arrogant, and sometimes quite stupid, but strong at will. If I can't match his will, then I wouldn't be going to train. I want to train to become as amazing as him and my dad. When I become a real shinigami, I want to become a lieutenant or captain, just like Renji or Toshiro! I know, this could take years, and I might die, but if I die, won't I just go back to Soul Society anyways? And if it takes years, it'll take years, because I want to become strong." Yoruichi realized Karin was as headstrong as her brother, although not as idiotic and impulsive, which was _very _beneficial. This girl had more common sense and less inanity locked in her mind.

Yoruichi smiled silently, combing her hair back. Karin-chan had Ichigo's will, big speech, although a good sense of calm; probably not from her father's side of her family. "Yo, Karin. Even though you can see the Hollow, have you been able to kill them? Can you use your reiatsu as a weapon?" Yoruichi had sensed the same kind of reiatsu coming out of Ichigo, as it was coming out of Karin as well. Not exactly the same but close enough to know that the power was extreme. "Show me a few moves." She uttered simply.

"Heh! Give me a soccer ball, Ururu!" The shrimpy, pink-skirted girl whispered something to Urahara before scurrying into the shop and searching through mountains of junk. Karin's face shone with pride as she began loosening up her body. "I've played soccer for five years already, and all that's paid off." Karin felt her reiatsu begin to stretch throughout her body, obeying what she wanted. Ururu came back with a heavy looking, lead type of ball.

Urahara chuckled and introduced Karin to it. "This is a mineral coated metal ball, perfect for your soccer kick. As long as you can infuse your reiatsu within it the first time you touch it, this ball will temporarily be your weapon. Once you lift this ball off the ground, you can experiment with it, change it into different forms, shoot it, explode it, whatever you want; I'm only interested in seeing how well you can handle this." Karin took a few moments to warm up. Her right leg was unexpectedly pouring out great amounts of reiatsu as she raced towards the huge black ball. In a swift kick, the ball lashed into the air and came back down. Karin's palm smacked it up again. Over and over she hit it with parts of her body until she caught it in her hand.

"Urahara-san… you said I could change it, right?" She squeezed both her hands around the sphere, but the size didn't change. It took her a whole ten minutes to manage to form it a centimeter or two smaller. By then, she was already exhausted. "Damn… How do you crush this thing?!" Karin screamed as she stomped on it repeatedly with her foot. "The hell with this!" She picked up the ball with one hand and punted it towards the trees in the back of the Urahara's shop.

Urahara sighed. "Karin-chan, I'm disappointed that you would take after your brother… Retrieve the metal ball or I'll shut the gates to Soul Society." His arms crossed again, he watched as she ambled down the path to grab the ball. "Ururu, Jinta; hold Karin-chan down." He articulated darkly making Yoruichi shiver. Jinta cursed and rushed after Karin, who was walking faster now, unaware of the fact that two children were headed for her feet.

Karin landed with a thump. Annoyed, she stood back up again, aware of the fact that Ururu and Jinta had tried to make her fall. She gasped as she began to struggle to get up. Her body was pinned down by her sinking legs. Ururu's face stayed blank as she fell to her knees and straightened up Karin's left leg. She cracked her knuckled and went for her left knee, twisting it out of position. Karin winced at the pain as a fear tears fell. "Urahara! My knee!" Jinta twisted her right knee before she could say anything else. Her scream come out a hoarse, compressed whisper.

The shaggy-blond middle-aged man stood up and yelled, "Karin-chan, your ankles will be next if you don't retrieve it in time." Quite calmly, he sat down again and smiled at Yoruichi, who could only shiver a little in response. In a matter of moments, Karin's response was clear. Her hands reached out in front of her and began to pull her reiatsu back. She was getting faster with pulling, letting go, pulling, and so forth. Out of the blue, another spasm of pain hit her. Ururu had received the command of twisting her ankle. In a panic, Karin grasped her distant reiatsu with her fingers and clawed it back in. The black sphere spun towards Karin's open palm.

Urahara nodded, "She's got potential, but it can only be egged on with panicking situations. Just like her brother."

oOo

Author's Note: So... I finished the prologue. I promise the next chapters will be much longer; yes, the summary's a tad too long, but it's not _that _confusing, is it? Anyhow, please review to tell me if you liked it, and would like for me to continue with the story. No flames, but a constructive criticism is appreciated.


	2. Of Black Cats and Hell's Butterflies

Title: Guilty Nightmares, Devoting Kicks

Summary: Kurosaki Karin takes after her brother; short tempered, powerful, understanding, rude, yet determined. She's determined to become what her brother became by going to the shinigami academy in Seireitei, and then become a powerful shinigami, exactly like her brother. While she becomes prey at the academy with Kuchiki Rukia, her relief at the end of the day is with her friends. One of them, specifically, makes her happy; brilliant soccer player, Hitsugaya Toshiro. Hitsugaya's mind wanders from Karin to Hinamori, wondering what they've created in his life. Rukia's unfazed charisma is suddenly cracked open with the sudden announcement of Ichigo and Inoue's 'relationship.'

Pairings: Karin/Hitsugaya Hinamori/Hitsugaya Rukia/Ichigo Inoue/Ichigo

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach…Sadly…

Chapter One: Of Black Cats and Hell's Butterflies

Matsumoto awoke to a throbbing headache and a note from Hitsugaya, telling her to stop drinking or he'd have to buy more sake pills. She realized that was the reason why her mouth tasted like vomit and sand. Then, she was instructed to get Rukia, Renji, Kira, and Ichigo. Matsumoto realized she had a hard time recalling what day and time it was, not to mention what had happened yesterday. Slowly, though, she regained her sense of composure. Pulling her body to the bathroom was like pulling a load of iron with her legs cut off. Everything around her was intense, banging against her head over and over. It took a massive amount of determination to peel away her sweaty clothes and get into the shower.

"It feels like I'm in my gigai again… Painful." She soaked her body in cold water, releasing the colossal headache easily. This was followed by turning the handle to the hot water, chilling her to the bone. She always loved the sudden switch from freezing cold to billowing steaming hot water. Matsumoto soaked herself comfortably while the air filled with an overpowering flowery scent, which usually meant she was about to go unconscious, or start seeing doubles. "God…. I'm delusional, better get fresh air." She cursed and washed out her hair again. With her robe on, wet hair wrapped in a towel, Matsumoto looked like a huge ball of fluffy clothes. "Mm…. January's still cold." She noted, biting her lip as she consumed the shiver that was rising when she stepped out of her bathroom.

Another chill went up her spine as an additional wave of cold went through the hall. "Captain Hitsugaya must be totally pissed that I didn't finish my paperwork…" She squeaked and bit her lip again. Her captain's icy reiatsu were different from the natural winter cold.

She pulled on the underwear and khaki shorts Inoue-chan had sent her, and covered the rest of her body with knee-length black T-shirt bought from this 'mall' in Kurakara. "Sexy?" She asked herself in the mirror. Her face was a little blotchy from not having eaten in the last ten or so hours, her eyes had some bags, but other than that, she still held her charming charisma. She strutted into Hitsugaya's room to find nothing but tidiness. "To think I would've walk all the way down here just to see a bed, closet, and bathroom. The kid seriously has to loosen up. Not a perverted magazine in sight... Hitsugaya-san, you're going to turn in Captain Kuchiki in a few years…" She sighed dramatically and flopped down on the bed. "Can't you even try to be cuddly? Yachiru-chan is…."

From across the hall, a voice called, "Matsumoto, get out of _my _room! Don't compare me to the pink-headed girl!" A packet of paper flew right at Matsumoto's head. "That's your paperwork. Finish it up after you haul all four of them back into my office. Get out of my room!" This time, a brush and ink bottle came flying at her. "If you don't get out, the next item I'm going to throw at you is going to be my Soul Slayer!" Matsumoto groaned and walked out of the room, shivering and sticking her tongue out at the back of her captain's white hair. She found herself comparing Captain Hitsugaya not to Yachiru-chan, but to the chilly morning air biting at her bare toes.

oOo

January 9 was cold. Perfect weather for anything ice-related.

It was humid too. Humid enough to create more attacks and continue to use the moisture to store up more power.

His footsteps barely made a sound in the hall. His office was on the very end of the hallway. The hallway was a dead end, after all, but its sides each held three rooms, making it a total of seven rooms in the vast Division Ten vicinity. His room was on the left, right next to his office, Kira and Abarai taking up the two rooms next to him. Matsumoto's room was on the opposite side, holding the room farthest from his office, nearest to the door leading out. "Leading out to parties and getting drunk." He thought acidly. Other than Matsumoto and him, there weren't supposed to be any other people living in the hallway. Abarai and Kira had just had a sudden notion that it would be convenient to slack off and not sleep somewhere else; for a completely accurate example, in their own division's district. If Abarai and Kira wouldn't have had the completely outrageous notion, the theoretically empty rooms were built for high-ranking officials of the Tenth Division to stay at, but those were old days. These days, high-ranking officers were well respected enough to manage to rent out a room somewhere in their division's area, so Captain Hitsugaya didn't care where they stayed, as long as they were up for battle.

There were seven rooms, five rooms occupied, so that left the two rooms left to be filled. Abarai had especially instructed Hitsugaya to keep one of the rooms clean a few weeks ago, saying that Kuchiki Rukia would be boarding with him.

The door at the opening of the hallway clicked open, and he walked out.

In the chilling presence of the sliver of melting ice over the grass, Hinamori's face appeared. She seemed to be just like melting ice. Stable at one time, during the cold night, but when the sun came up, boiling her over with the truth, she didn't seem to be able to take it. The ice would turn to water, and then disappear as mist. Hitsugaya wanted to see her, wanted to know that she was fine, but it was forbidden, among other things. Hinamori's state of mind had always been a little naïve, although, that was why he had liked her. Upbeat, kind, and always funny, Hinamori had been a close friend. How close, he couldn't figure out. He knew, at one time or another, he had believed he had liked her more than 'just a friend,' but now? She had admired Captain Aizen so much she had attacked Hitsugaya. "Attacked….me…" His voice faltered and cracked a little, but he continued walking, avoiding the site of the icy grass. Then, betrayed and injured, she had been rescued. After recuperation, she had gone into denial, blaming Gin. Proving too difficult to handle, Hinamori had been confined somewhere in secret. Even if he knew the place where Hinamori was, he would have refrained from rescuing her.

"Admiration and friendship… Hinamori-chan, what drove you to doubt me?"

He kept in step with the rhythm he was thinking at. Up ahead was the hill that overlooked Seireitei. Every time he thought of Hinamori, he was alone. He had to be alone to experience so much pain. Pushing Hinamori's painful subject out of his mind, he climbed the hill, feeling the reiatsu coming from it. "Ichigo, Abarai, Kira! Where's Rukia-san?" His low voice came out loudly, abruptly breaking their fights and discussions. "In addition… where is Matsumoto? Did she come by here?" His voice was a suspicious hiss, barely audible by the time he started talking to himself, cursing Matsumoto's party-addiction. Ichigo's reiatsu was incredibly high, dropping one second, soaring up another. They smelled of alcohol.

A gurgling sound caught Hitsugaya's attention. A tiny figure was slowly moving across the opposite side of the tree Ichigo was leaning against. Ichigo's reiatsu secured her to the tree, Hitsugaya noticed as he moved on in. The tree trunk had a deep scar rubbed into it because of the reiatsu being pulled and pushed; Rukia trying to escape, apparently. Her Shinigami uniform had been pretty well torn, where Ichigo's reiatsu had rubbed against her clothing while she was trying to escape. Her mouth had been tied with cloth, and she was glaring at Ichigo with killing intent. Once the reiatsu confining her to the tree vanished, she ripped the cloth off her face and started attacking Ichigo, screaming, "You ugly asshole! " She punched him in the cheek, making a notable dent in his skin. Rukia wiped her hand a little and returned to the Captain. "Captain Hitsugaya, Lieutenant Matsumoto has been deceived into thinking that I was with Nii-sama, Captain Kuchiki. All three of them just celebrated Ichigo's 'successful return to Seireitei' with Lieutenant Matsumoto by drinking a few glasses. Please give me the honor of knocking them unconscious before they hurt someone else."

Hitsugaya would have to remind Matsumoto later that she had no authority bringing alcohol everywhere she went, just because she was a Lieutenant. He made a sort of 'mm' sound, which Rukia took for a 'yes.'

Rukia snapped her index finger and middle finger out and connected them with the back of their heads, at the base that met with their spine. One by one, all three of them flopped onto the ground, alcohol diminishing the thoughts that were usually supposed to come after being knocked unconscious. Rukia's mind was somewhere else again. It was January 8 or 9, meaning she would have a limited amount of time with Ichigo. He'd promised to stay there until after her birthday, January 14. Then, after that, he was going home to study for college. This meant that she'd be staying in Seireitei for about seven or eight months, as a minimum, before Ichigo would come back, for more than a week. She still hadn't gone to Kaien-dono's grave, hadn't told Ichigo about Chappy's new released movie, and lots more. Time was flitting away, sadly.

Absentmindedly, she pried Ichigo's body up and found a stifled lion stuffed doll. Subsequently, she bowed courteously before Captain Hitsugaya, as custom. "Captain Hitsugaya, I will find Lieutenant Matsumoto for Ichigo, Renji, and Kira, if you want me to do so." Hitsugaya was looking away again, the faraway look that Ichigo always got when he thought about something deep and depressing. It was this look that Ichigo held whenever Karin annoyed Ichigo with her thoughts of 'protecting the family; and 'becoming a shinigami, just like Ichi-Nii.' Ichigo had no right over the matter about Karin becoming a shinigami to protect, but he was utterly set against it. He had no intention of putting any family members in danger just to become what he'd become.

There were many things bothering her about this look; Hitsugaya's eyes reflected the same sorrow as Ichigo's did when he tried to shield her from her dreams. He wanted to protect someone; someone who'd been hurt. "You won't mind me saying this, but Hitsugaya-san, as long as I'm going to Division Six's quarters, why don't you tell me about Hinamori? Everyone, even Renji, seems to be avoiding this 'Aizen and Hinamori' issue. If Soul Society is in denial, times have definitely changed. Will you tell me? Even though Hinamori and I weren't close, I knew she was kind. Aizen was the bastard that manipulated her feelings." Her voice went steely. "Seireitei should have been able to prevent this." Hitsugaya finally looked at Rukia, his face back to the normal uncaring expression. Rukia smiled genuinely, "It's great that you care about her so much. It's sort of… it's sort of like me an Ichigo, when he's not acting like a complete idiot." Hitsugaya's facial expression changed a little. His eyes reflected an odd type of longing. He didn't say anything for a few moments.

The silence was broken when the stuffed lion began to make a sound. Then, its eyes began to take on a living glow, and finally a shriek of, "Nii-san!" Regrettably, the doll was crushed by Rukia's fist, stuffed into her shirt's pocket, and forced to endure a terrible journey to Byakuya's quarters. All the while he was plotting how he was going to show more affection to the flat chested, violent girl.

While moving quickly through the awakening Seireitei, the captain began to talk. "Rukia-san, Hinamori seemed to have lost her will to understand her situation after awhile. She wouldn't believe what Aizen was doing, refused to eat or sleep, so all we could do was keep her on lockdown, force-feed and give her paralysis to keep her from injuring herself. Very few people know her whereabouts." He kept his voice steady, monotone. "It's only a short period of time before she heals, according to the other captains. It's just some shock; of course it'll wear off. But after that shock wears off, what'll happen when she's notified that Aizen has been killed? Hinamori may be in Soul Society's way, keeping us attached to the past." He repeated what the general had told him.

Rukia's entire body spun around, "Captain Hitsugaya, you aren't saying this because you want to. I remember you as one of Renji's friends; someone who was always attached to Hinamori. Seireitei should learn from the past, not go into denial and try to forget. You don't forget a person's existence; why would there be graves and shrines? But I agree, how Hinamori would deal, and is dealing, with the situation currently is too cruel on those who've been connected to the incident."

Almost instantaneously, her tone changed. She was now a bright and cheery, yet fake, kind of girl as she skipped along. "Oh! Look, we're here!" Rukia's voice turned bright as she walked into Kuchiki Byakuya's large courtyard.

Almost as though he had been waiting at the door for the right moment to make his entrance, Captain Kuchiki opened the door to his office and declared slowly, "Lieutenant Matsumoto collapsed on the ground after vomiting up small amounts of alcohol. She's lying in the first room on the right." Hitsugaya sauntered into the directed room and closed the door. Byakuya's eyes narrowed for a second, and then relaxed. "Rukia, Jidanbo the Gatekeeper has let in Yoruichi-san and a Kurosaki girl, unexpectedly. According to Jidanbo, this girl plans to stay in Seireitei and become a shinigami by going to the academy. I'm supposing these ideas were put into her head by you and that Kurosaki boy. Bring her to me, and I will sort her out."

Rukia's head was tilted low as she said a simple, "Understood, Nii-sama."

Kon, who had heard all of this, slipped out of Rukia's pocket, unnoticed and skidded for the room Hitsugaya and Matsumoto were in. He felt the need to tell them about this. Byakuya noticed this out of the corner of his eyes, as he twirled around and walked away. Kon was about to feel the wrath of Kuchiki Byakuya.

oOo

Karin's entire lower body had been numb after Urahara's 'practice.'

Apparently, dislocating her knees and an ankle was just to get her reiatsu to flow into her feet faster, and to 'make her grow in controlling reiatsu.' So now she wore two flexible metal conductors around her legs to her toes, as supports for standing and as a 'conductor for reiatsu.' Not only that, he had gone and numbed her feet so she wouldn't feel the pain when he had put the incredibly tight casts on. And then, in his fake-kind voice he explained what the two metal crap joints on her legs were for. "Karin-chan, this weapon can help you transmit your reiatsu to your feet much faster because of their ability to conduct reiatsu. Take the metal ball with you, but remember that the more this ball gets injured, the more you'll get injured, and vice versa. Your reiatsu and it are connected, which is the only way that this thing isn't going to end up in someone else's possession. Also, Karin-chan, you might want to get through to Soul Society before the numbness in your legs wear off, because then you might experience a little pain." The black orb was bouncing in Karin's hand, having been forced into the size of a baseball after transmitting her fury and annoyance into it.

Urahara's thoughts echoed in his mind as he watched Karin's form disappear. "Kurosaki's family is interesting."

Once Karin had walked through the gate, she realized that she somehow felt lighter, like a weight had been forced through her body, and was left in the real world. As she stepped out of the gate, her question was answered. Her body had been forced to stay behind in the human realm, so her spirit was now standing here. Her legs were still equipped with the metal crutches, her hand still held onto the metal ball, but she couldn't feel any of the numbness or supposed pain from having her knees and an ankle broken. Thankfully, she could feel her blood circulating through the tight crutches. Likewise, Yoruichi had transformed into her black cat form.

They found Jidanbo, the immense and ugly shinigami, who let them in after they told him Karin's reason for going in, and walked through the back alleys of Seireitei for many hours, until arriving in front of another gate, surrounding the Shinigami Academy and the Gotei 13's living and training quarters, according to Yoruichi. The black cat flicked her paw a little, and a shadowy butterfly appeared. Karin's eyes remained transfixed on the butterfly as it moved towards the closed gate."Karin-chan, the Hell's Butterfly is the only way to get through this gate. Every important figure in the Gotei 13 takes one before leaving the perimeters of this place. If you can't get through the gate before the gate closes, I can't open it again." As soon as it touched the gate's barrier, it vanished. Yoruichi, as the black cat rushed towards the gate, commanding Karin to follow before the gate closed.

Karin complied immediately, pacing to keep up with the black cat. She couldn't lie to herself; Yoruichi-san's run was incredible. Even she, a complete soccer-star scorer, had yet to keep up with Yoruichi-san's fast movements. She could shoot reiatsu out of her feet to slam a ball into the soccer goal, but she didn't know how to maintain reiatsu in her feet to run. She'd just been naturally fast, no tricks for running. That was the reason Karin had found herself disbelieving her eyes as Yoruichi-san had easily beaten her in a race, even though she'd been putting her all into it. Once again, the black cat was using her high-speed technique, 'Shumpo' to get through the gate. Yoruichi-san slid under the gate, moments before Karin, but those moments meant a lot to the soccer-player. Moments of time she couldn't keep up with the black cat meant moments the barrier could've closed and Yoruichi-san would've left her there.

The black cat began to talk again. "From here on out, Karin-chan, it'll be easier for both of us. We were avoiding guards back there. Now, we'll be able to walk freely through here." The black cat's paw moved to the sky a bit, until it pointed at 'a hell of a gigantic building,' as Karin nicely described it. Painted black on one end, and white on the other, the gigantic building spread out for a mile, at the very least. It looked about three stories high, and there were more than two hundred windows. Karin's eyes continued to grow bigger and bigger as she stared at the building. Yoruichi explained her plan simply to the watery-eyed, very touched, girl. "If we manage to find Captain Soifon or Captain Hitsugaya before Jidanbo's message to the Gotei 13 reaches other Captains' ears, and they send out their Shinigami to retrieve us, then we should be safe. I can persuade Captain Soifon and, at least, Lieutenant Matsumoto to get a word in to Captain Yamamoto about your situation. Obviously, I'm not just bringing _you_ here, but it'll help with your case." The black cat had started running again, leaving Karin stumbling after her.

The race against the other search parties continued for many hours before a black figure appeared before the two of them. A pair of black, billowing trousers below a black, flowing skirt descended in front of them. Kuchiki Rukia descended in front of both of them, and with a Hell's Butterfly in one hand and her Soul Slayer in the other, she truly looked menacing. The cold words she spoke as she avoided their eyes were, "Captain Kuchiki has ordered me to retrieve Yoruichi-san and Karin-chan, as it's against the law to bring living human souls to Soul Society without a rational reason. You will come with me to be questioned. Either come with me peacefully, or I'll be forced to use my Soul Slayer."

The Hell's Butterfly crackled a very distinctive sound. Captain Kuchiki's hollow, distant voice blared through the butterfly. "Yoruichi-san, Kurosaki girl, this is an order that will be obeyed." The Hell's Butterfly crackled softly again, and then stayed silent. Yoruichi seemed indecisive. Karin was confused and anxious. _Where was Ichi-Nii? Captain Kuchiki was Rukia-san's father, brother, or what?_

oOo

Matsumoto was awakened by a sound a few meters away. Her shrimpy captain was sitting against the wall's corner, sleeping. Matsumoto watched him sleep restlessly for a few minutes, until she confirmed that he actually was dozing. She sat up, ready to go party again. The first step towards the door was stopped by Captain Hitsugaya's low voice. "Matsumoto, if you do not finish the stack of paperwork assigned to you, I will be forced to replace you! You have no right to give alcohol to Abarai, Kira, or Ichigo without me knowing. Leave. NOW!" He roared, making even the ceiling, shake under his massive outburst. Matsumoto cringed, and without saying a word, bowed, and crept back to her room to finish everything up.

Byakuya pushed open the door forcefully and glared at the white haired, arrogant little punk, whom stood up and sighed. "Captain Kuchiki, I'm very sorry about Matsumoto's actions, however they might've offended you. I would like to know, Captain, if you happen to make plans for Rukia-san to live with you, or not. It would be more convenient for Rukia-san if she were to live with you, Captain Kuchiki, in my opinions. What are your thoughts?" Honestly, captain Hitsugaya's thoughts were, 'If Rukia-san came to live with Abarai, Kira, and Matsumoto, my hallway would be demolished and burned after one night of wild partying.' It wasn't that he didn't trust the raven-haired, violet-eyed girl; it was her red-headed and tattooed friend he had trouble assuring himself with.

Without a moment's hesitation, Rukia's Nii-sama replied, "Captain Hitsugaya, as I'm sure you're aware, Abarai and Kira have both chosen not to permanently live within their own Division's provided quarters. Instead, they have chosen to stay with Lieutenant Matsumoto and you, for most of their time in Seireitei. Because of this, Rukia's friend, Abarai has probably already convinced her of moving in with him, more exact, in one of your rooms. I have no control over where my Lieutenant may live in Seireitei, so I have no control over where Rukia lives. Of course, if you don't want Abarai and Rukia living there, please feel free to kick them out." The way Byakuya had phrased it so easily was as if he had done it hundreds of times.

Hitsugaya remembered the many times he had tried to lock Abarai and Kira out of his rooms. No matter what he'd planned, Both of them had always managed on returning to the hallway, apologizing for everything they had done to annoy Captain Hitsugaya, promise not to do it anymore, and let it happen again. Then, the cycle would return to the first step, and keep on going. Life had cursed him with fools who would intrude upon his life and never leave him alone. They were all happy idiots; Matsumoto, Abarai, Kira, Ikkaku, Yumichika, and so forth. His thoughts trailed back a little too far; until he remembered the one friend he had who called him, 'Shirou-chan,' and he had let her do so. His thoughts shattered at that point, glass breaking as if a fist had cracked it open. He turned away from Captain Kuchiki, nodding as his eyes glazed over, refusing to show any emotion. Captain Kuchiki took this as a sign for his leaving.

He cracked at Hinamori's name. Rukia's conversation bled through his mind as he stared at the tatami mats below his feet. He was alone again. Slone; sitting in a dark room, staring at tatami mats, and thinking of his friend who'd been imprisoned due to infatuation. He felt like Hinamori, now. He felt imprisoned because of her. Was he infatuated with her? All that time, his conscious was failing to suppress his want to see Hinamori; see that his friend was all right and as happy as before. No, he wasn't infatuated. He wanted to be relieved of this pain of not knowing what had happened to her. His subconscious opened everything up for him, painfully and quickly. Images and memories flashed in his mind, her words, her smiles, and her actions, everything about Hinamori from those spitting watermelon days to the last chat with her before she was cut away from Soul Society. The pain was unbearable, yet the pictures kept coming one-by-one, unable to stop. Little by little, the thoughts began to slow down, being again suppressed by his awakening conscious. His eyes drooped, heart beat slowed, all feeling lost in his body, and quickly descended upon a coma.

Byakuya sensed a sudden drop in reiatsu from Captain Hitsugaya. His first guess was, 'Masking his reiatsu, I suppose. Maybe Matsumoto or Rukia's back.' Although not too concerned, he was a bit curious why the captain had masked his reiatsu. He knocked on the door to the room Captain Hitsugaya had yet to come out from. He slid it open and watched the bent figure in a mixture of curiosity and unease. Captain Hitsugaya would've moved by now, he realized. Once he moved himself in front of Captain Hitsugaya, his unease was furthered.

The Captain's eyes were blank. Completely blank; they had yet to blink in the three minutes Captain Kuchiki sat in front of the kid.

Hitsugaya made no response when Byakuya leaned in and forcefully punched him in the stomach, causing blood to trail down his chin. The prodigy captain had been pushed back a few inches, but there wasn't any change in the unblinking, almost lifeless eyes of his. Byakuya was beginning to wonder if the Captain had suddenly died and was beginning to be reborn in the human world, when the Hitsugaya's eyes closed and he slumped down. Byakuya checked for breathing and then left to contact Division 4, just to make sure Hitsugaya hadn't had anything fatal happen to him.

There was one point Byakuya noted about the captain. He had the ability to put up with incredibly idiotic people around him. It amazed him to no ends how a captain could have been able to put up with Kira and Abarai, the lazy Lieutenant Matsumoto, narcissist Yumichika, completely insane Ikkaku, and so many more. His eyes wandered back to Hitsugaya's slumped body. He was also aware that Hitsugaya showed humane emotions to all those people he put up with… He was lost, though. How Hitsugaya could put up with aggravating annoyances, and still show them friendliness was beyond him. He could only show emotions to a selected few.

The door was opened a little crack after Byakuya had left. Kon looked ragged and depressed as he peered into the dark room. He burst out crying, "Nii-san!" before Byakuya snatched the doll up by his neck and threw him back into his office. The idiotic doll was getting on his nerves.

oOo

Author's Note: So… the Prologue was really quick typing, and this chapter was just some background information. I promised a lot more words, so there you have it! Back on topic, I know I haven't started with the action or romance yet, but please don't be disappointed. As you can figure out, Rukia and Toshiro have just started a friend-friend relationship with him; good thing too, because she's going to need someone to talk to with that Ichigo going to chase another girl…. My bad, said too much, didn't I? Please read and review, because I just want to know of you all like the story so far. You know? Thanks for the support!


	3. That Soccer Game Three Years Ago

Title: Guilty Nightmares, Devoting Kicks

Summary: Kurosaki Karin takes after her brother; short tempered, powerful, understanding, rude, yet determined. She's determined to become what her brother became by going to the shinigami academy in Seireitei, and then become a powerful shinigami, exactly like her brother. While she becomes prey at the academy with Kuchiki Rukia, her relief at the end of the day is with her friends. One of them, specifically, makes her happy; brilliant soccer player, Hitsugaya Toshiro. Hitsugaya's mind wanders from Karin to Hinamori, wondering what they've created in his life. Rukia's unfazed charisma is suddenly cracked open with the sudden announcement of Ichigo and Inoue's 'relationship.'

Pairings: Karin/Hitsugaya Hinamori/Hitsugaya Rukia/Ichigo Inoue/Ichigo

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach…Sadly…

Chapter Two: That Soccer Game Three Years Ago…

Yoruichi and Karin were following Rukia, looking almost defeated, in Karin's opinion. Yoruichi's seemed to be thinking up some kind of argument against the 'Captain Kuchiki,' while Rukia had her head bent low, almost looking gloomy, very uncharacteristic. Karin decided to contemplate who the captain was, by talking to herself. "Ichi-Nii told me about Captain Kuchiki, Rukia-san's brother, some bastard who thought he was high and mighty. He said that he was a captain, so I suppose this high and mighty noble is Captain Kuchiki. But why would this be bad? Captain Kuchiki couldn't possibly hate Ichi-Nii to the point of trying to get rid of me, right? Yoruichi-san was saying if she could get to Captain Soifon or Captain Hitsugaya, she might be able to put in a word for me to attend Shinigami Academy… Rukia-san couldn't possibly… she couldn't just turn me in so heartlessly, right?"

Lost in thought, Karin didn't notice they had stopped until she tripped over Yoruichi. She landed on her stomach and winced before leaping to her feet again, silently cursing herself.

A tall, well built man stepped out of the house she was facing. His bangs were fashioned in an odd way, as if he put them in tubes when he went to sleep. Karin's eyes rested on his face, trying to see if he and Rukia had anything in common. Rukia's eyes were wide and a deep violet, holding a sensation of sadness and happiness; this guy's eyes were cold and devoid of emotion, an unlit piece of coal, Karin mused. She turned away, knowing that this guy wasn't going to help her with her wish. It was all too apparent in his features and harsh eyes.

Yoruichi's shadowy figure leapt beside Byakuya and walked beside him into the dark hallway. Because they hadn't called her to follow them, Karin decided to follow Rukia's quivering body. She opened the door to the first room on the right. Shocked, the small figure stood in the same spot, nonmoving. Karin peered in, curious to why Rukia had just ceased movement. Inside, she found a fairly tall and fair lady with a braid wrapped around her neck, so that the braid trailed down her stomach, instead of the back. Beside her stood three, Karin assumed, assistants. They were all fairly short. She wondered what they were doing, as the whole room was filled with their reiatsu, soft and relaxing. Rukia stepped into the room softly and peered at what was happening. Karin followed, a bit reluctantly. She had a gut feeling she wasn't going to like what she was going to see.

A lock of hair was sticking to his sweating face. His eyes were closed, but once in a while, it seemed to twitch, life a timer, telling them to hurry. The white hair was exceptionally familiar, but the face was so far away from what Karin had remembered. Every now and then, he would seem to give off a weak reiatsu, as if fighting. Karin placed his face with a name; something-Toshiro, one of Ichi-Nii's friends that had visited him, and the brilliant soccer player she had met three years ago. Karin had a hard time trying to figure out Toshiro's full name for awhile, until she landed on the memory of when she had first met the Shinigami captain. It sounded something like, 'Hisugeo.' Karin could only remember the parts about his amazing soccer ability and the way he'd been able to save her from the Hollow after the game. He didn't look so in-control as his whole face was a mask of pain. Karin realized the kid hadn't grown much, at all, just like her. His height was probably the same as her own; she guessed that he hadn't reached the age of puberty either.

Hitsugaya was lying on his side; his back on the opposite of Rukia and Karin. Karin scrambled to the other side of his body, where she got a peak of what the lady with the braid was doing. She was expertly slicing open the back of his neck with a knife. An assistant was holding Hitsugaya's neck up in a certain degree while the operation was occurring. The lady's eyes squinted as she looked carefully at the incision she made, until she seemed to figure out what happened. Quickly, she made the incision a few centimeters higher, the slit almost reaching where his first white hairs were sticking up from. She was given another knife from her second assistant. Using the second more curved and dull knife, she inserted it almost three centimeters into the slit. Blood had yet to come out, Karin thankfully realized. The lady seemed to have realized the operation was about to become serious, as she hurriedly pulled out a flask with a clear liquid inside, and poured it onto the curved knife, which was still sticking in Hitsugaya's neck. Karin watched as the last of the liquid ran into his cut. Almost immediately, she pulled out the sword that was slung on her back and placed it a few centimeters away from the fragile skin she had just cut apart. Rapidly, the sword seemed to dissolve into green mist, until there wasn't anything in her hand. The light coursed through the fragile skin on the back of Hitsugaya's neck. It only took a few minutes, but Karin was sure it was longer than that. She was apprehensive, unsure of what would happen.

One by one, the flickering, misty green light trailed through the healing skin, until it reformed into the original sword. The lady stood up and sheathed it. Her assistants crowded around the healing neck and began to seal it up once more, just in case. Karin walked back to where Rukia was trembling. Her eyes shifted to Hitsugaya's face, now a peaceful expression, unlike the one contorted in pain a few minutes ago. Blowing out a dramatic sigh, she tapped Rukia's shoulder and nodded at the lady with the braid, who appeared to be motioning towards both of them to follow her. Karin glanced behind her shoulder at the shivering, white-haired figure, and swiftly followed.

"What happened to Captain Hitsugaya?" Rukia questioned, her eyes dilating in fright.

_Hitsugaya Toshiro! That was his name! _Karin felt as though she had grasped something about the white-headed kid. A familiar feeling swept over her as she repeatedly uttered the name in her head. A comforting feeling…

Unohana Retsu was the lady's name; she was the captain of the 4th division, the healing division. Byakuya addressed her as Captain Unohana when she led Rukia and Karin into his office. Yoruichi had climbed onto Byakuya's desk and was perched beside a stack of papers. Captain Unohana's soft, calm voice silenced everyone. "Captain Hitsugaya's just suffered a minor blackout die to stress. I wouldn't say that it's life-threatening, but if his objects of stress isn't worked out soon, then I fear Minazuki would be of no use." At this point, she tapped the hilt of her sword. "Minazuki can only heal wounds of the flesh. Stress is a problem that develops in the mind or heart, like depression. We all have the innate ability to create a barrier between our conscience mind, and our unconscious, but Captain Hitsugaya' s… all I could do was temporarily close down his ability to comprehend all of these images and thoughts. I'll have to assume all this stress is because of paperwork, schedules, and such. As a result, Lieutenant Matsumoto will take on the Captain's work for the 10th Division until further notice. I will notify this to Captain Yamamoto now. My three assistants will take care of Captain Hitsugaya until he regains consciousness." After bowing respectfully, she smiled and walked out of the office. Captain Kuchiki seemed to consider her words carefully, weighing his words for a few moments.

Everyone in the room seemed to hold their breaths, just waiting for him to speak up.

"Rukia; when Captain Hitsugaya wakes up, you're going to escort him back to his living quarters. Go wait in the room he's currently in. After I sort matters out with Yoruichi-san and Kurosaki's sister, I'll go check up on you." His cold demeanor seemed to make the room stiff, the air hard to breathe. Rukia stuttered a bit as she bowed and treaded out of the office. Karin's heart was beating awkwardly now. Every two or three seconds it would beat; she had never felt so much pressure filling her lungs. Then, Captain Kuchiki addressed her. She almost choked on oxygen as his gaze narrowed on Karin's black eyes.

She felt self-conscious. Karin's eyes stared at her shoes, checking up on what she was wearing. Her sneakers were perfectly acceptable; a pair of worn-out shoes with a faded grey denim pattern. Her black khakis? Were they repulsive? They'd been Ichi-Nii's a few years ago. They were pretty big on her small thighs; faded, worn-out, but comfortable. Her T-short was also like the rest of her attire; faded and worn out, yet still holding the lovable comfy feeling of home Karin had wanted. It was a long green T-shirt with an image of black buildings and flying ravens, looking like they'd been graffiti-ed on. She almost crumpled to the ground, had it not been for the metal 'crutches' that still clung around her feet. _My clothes must look unacceptable. But the hell with that; did he expect me to wear a Shinigami uniform like Rukia-san? I'm not dead; I just came back from soccer practice…._

Captain Kuchiki was eyeing the exasperated look in the Kurosaki girl's eyes. He snapped her out of her delusional thoughts with a sharp cough, followed by, "Take a seat, Karin." When the girl obeyed, fairly quickly, he continued. "Yoruichi-san told me about your situation, and I disagree with your thoughts on becoming a shinigami, just like your brother. Frankly, I believe it's completely out of the question. You're still a living human who has come to Soul Society to become something that only deceased spirits can become. It's against Soul Society's laws. I advice you not to take after your brother."

Karin jumped up and slammed her hand on the desk, almost cringing at the pain. She steadily spoke, "You want me to step down because you don't want another shinigami like my brother? You son of a bas-" She was silenced by Byakuya's cold stare.

He pointed to the chair she had jumped up from. Karin fell down in it, pushed down by his reiatsu. He continued on, rather coldly. "I didn't finish. No matter what your intentions are, about going to the Shinigami Academy, there's no possibility that you could actually learn there. The simple fact is, 'You're not dead.' Soul Society and the Shinigami Academy are for the dead."

"So you want me to die."

"I don't intend for you to die, just to become a shinigami."

"I could die just to protect everybody else from Hollows. That's an option. Ichi-Nii, Yuzu, and Daddy would understand."

Silence followed the statement. Yoruichi seemed to be purring loudly, as if laughing at Byakuya for losing this battle. Like brother, like sister, she seemed to be saying. Ichigo had risked his life to save his friends, and Karin was willing to do it as well, even if it meant actually losing her life in the process.

oOo

Euphoric; that's what he felt when he awoke.

Well, he felt like he'd just had a drug overdose until he came crashing back to reality. As soon as he stood up, he vomited. Rukia hurriedly raced towards him. The three assistants pressed his body down and made him swallow some pills. They flipped his body over and started healing his neck again. One of the assistants looked up at Rukia and explained what was going on.

"Captain Hitsugaya's feeling nauseous because Captain Unohana sliced and healed a section below his cerebellum. I'm sure you know what the cerebellum controls; movement, balance, posture, and so on. Captain Hitsugaya's going to feel nauseous when he moves around too quickly, for a period of time. He'll recuperate faster if we keep him on numbing pills and heal him every few hours." The assistant went back to forcing reiatsu into the skin. Rukia sat there, helpless to what was going on.

Toshiro's eyes watered. He couldn't feel anything other than the alarmingly loud throb of blood and reiatsu pulsing through his body. He felt like he was dying and painful, torturous death. Somebody's voice seemed to speak loud and clear over the pulsing reiatsu entering his body. He listened intently to what the assistant was saying about his unbalanced state. Somewhat alarmed that he wouldn't be able to move, he stirred. Somebody's legs collapsed in front of his face. Then, that person's face came into focus. Rukia glanced down at the Captain, and began to talk.

"Captain Hitsugaya, I'm supposing it'll be awhile before you're going to be able to move again…" A sigh. "But don't worry; Captain Unohana's decided that Lieutenant Matsumoto will take over your duties until your stress and nauseous state wears off. I also have some news; Ichigo had two sisters, you remember, right? One was named Karin; the black haired, soccer star was the one who inherited developing Shinigami powers like Ichigo. Then, there was Yuzu; the pretty blond-haired one who could only see outlines of spirits. Karin-chan's come to Soul Society with Yoruichi-san." Toshiro felt lightheaded again.

He remembered the two sisters. Yuzu had treated him to cake; his impression of her was, 'sweet kid who had a knack for cooking.' Karin had befriended him and gotten him to become a team member on that soccer team of hers. Then, he had killed a Hollow after the soccer game, which was the only reason why he had later known that Karin was Ichigo's little sister. Yuzu and Karin both kept calling him Toshiro, which agitated him to no ends. Rukia seemed to take no notice of the glazed look plastered on Toshiro's face. She persisted, "Karin-chan probably came here to train, since Ichigo will be going off to this other school somewhere else. Ichigo calls it 'college.' But since Ichigo says that 'college' will be somewhere not in Kurakara, Karin-chan's probably decided to become a shinigami and protect Kurakara when Ichigo's gone. Not only that, Yoruichi-san seems to have come back for another reason. She's discovered a Hollow that's been able to merge with corpses or… something along those lines. Urahara-san told me he'd discovered this new species, and he'd send Yoruichi-san back to Soul Society to report about it." Toshiro began to feel nauseous again.

Against the will of the three assistants, he grabbed onto Rukia's shoulder and hoisted himself up. He suppressed the sudden urge to vomit. He waved to Rukia, signaling her to stay put. On his slow way out the door, he managed to suppress his need to vomit, although quite painfully. The captain needed to stop every few seconds to breathe. The three assistants rushed to his side and forced pills down his throat. As Toshiro stood two feet away from the door, another wave of nauseous spread through his system. He turned away from the three pale, petite figures and coughed up blood. He grunted out, "Get Captain-" Then stumbled and collided with the tatami mats.

Rukia scuttled up from her position and ran for her brother's office. From outside she heard a shake voice proclaim, "I could die just to protect everybody else from Hollows. That's an option. Ichi-Nii, Yuzu, and Daddy would understand." Karin's voice, she realized. Rukia couldn't understand. _Karin-chan would die to protect everyone else from Hollows? This was…Ichigo all over again. _

oOo

Kira woke up quite dazed. As far as he could remember, Ichigo had tied Rukia up with reiatsu, and they were having a great celebration. And then Captain Hitsugaya had come, and everything after that was a pleasant dream. He had dreamt that he was walking across the rainbow. It seemed to stretch across the world, and he continued walking and walking. Out of nowhere, there popped a mini-Ichigo and a mini-Renji. They looked like bobble-heads, actually. They started chatting about something; something Kira still couldn't remember, and then they pushed him off the rainbow. Little bobble-heads pushed him off the beautiful rainbow. And then he woke up.

Renji and Ichigo were still slumped on the ground; most likely because their alcohol intake had been exceedingly larger than his own. Rukia was gone. Captain Hitsugaya was gone. Kira stood up and shook Renji awake.

The redhead was jostled around for more than a minute before he cursed and tried to aim a punch in front of him. The blond-haired man swerved out of the way, narrowly escaping. Renji's eyes twitched slightly when Kira flicked the space between his eyebrows. In a swift move, Renji's hands gripped Kira's neck and pulled him closer. The redhead's tone was menacing and pissed off all at once, as he spoke, "What. Do. You. Want." Slowly and steadily, Kira eased his neck out of Renji's death grip. And then, breathing slower, Renji's figure seemed to slack, and he was back to his deep-sleep.

"Rukia's been captured."

Renji's eyes popped open immediately. He grabbed Kira's shirt collar, and yelled, "Where the hell did she go?"

"Captain…..Captain Hitsugaya!"

In a split second, Renji had had kicked off the hill and was tracing Toshiro's and Rukia's reiatsu. Kira gazed from below. He could've sworn that he'd seen Renji's mouth foaming with anger a few moments ago. He pulled Ichigo's form up on his back and started, slowly, chasing Renji's disappearing figure.

oOo

Inoue Orihime slid her slender fingers through her billowing, sleek orange hair. It was strange having Ichigo gone; she'd been a little frustrated with the idea that he would stay with Rukia until her birthday had passed. It was selfish, but she'd been a little joyful that Rukia was in Soul Society now. It was _very_ selfish, actually. Rukia was a friend, and she was going to be gone for months, and here she was, celebrating. But nonetheless, she felt happy that Ichigo would be able to stick around her, and not have to worry about Rukia for once… She had gone and waved as Rukia and Ichigo had walked through the gate. Ishida and Chad hadn't come because they'd already said their farewells a few days ago.

She'd heard Urahara and Yoruichi whispering about a new Hollow. When Ichigo and Rukia had departed, she had asked about the Hollow. Very gingerly, of course.

-Flashback-

_"Um… Urahara-san, Yoruichi-san, what Hollow were you talking about just now?" She pulled a few strands of loose hair behind her ear._

_Urahara answered loudly, "Don't worry about it Inoue-chan! We're going to tell you about it after Ichigo gets back. It's nothing to worry about, since all of you are so powerful…" Inoue nodded and waved, preparing to leave._

_Yoruichi stood up and spoke though. "__Inoue-chan, can I ask you… You do know the difference between the body and the body's spirit, right?" Inoue looked confused for a moment, but then nodded quite happily and bounced off. She had absolutely no idea why Yoruichi had asked that._

-End Flashback-

A body and a body's spirit were connected until it died, right? Why did it matter so much? It was funny, really. When she thought of Ichigo, her spirit would be lifted, and she would suddenly feel as though she could fly. Because… Ichigo was special to her; somebody who she truly cared about. She had doubts in her mind about her feelings; what would happen to Rukia? Love can destroy friendships, after all.

It applied to everyone.

oOo

Toshiro had no idea what was going on. One moment, Rukia had run out the door, and the next, he was flat on the ground with everyone crowded around him. He blinked and tried to name everyone. A black cat's stern stare, Captain Kuchiki's dull expression; Rukia's closed, shivering eyes; those three helpless assistants trying to pin him down; and that Kurosaki girl. It only took a moment to sit up. This time he felt no pain, but his stomach gave a throb. They had numbed him. God.

"Good grief Toshiro! You think the last image I want to have in Soul Society is you? Not to mention you about to hurl on me?" The floppy black haired Kurosaki girl rolled her eyes playfully and received a cruel stare from Byakuya. This silenced her, for a few seconds. "Toshiro, I was thinking; since I have to go back to the human world… and it's going to take awhile for the gates to open up again; maybe I could stay with Rukia-san, at your place?" Rukia shaky smile managed to confirm Toshiro that Karin wasn't making this up as she said it. Byakuya and Yoruichi made no attempt to stop this speech of hers.

"Captain Kuchiki said I would have to go back to the human world as soon as possible, so I'll go back with Ichi-Nii. But since Ichi-Nii and Rukia are staying with you, could I stay with you? It wouldn't be that bad, right, Toshiro?" Toshiro watched Karin bounce a black ball up and down in her palm. It was hypnotizing. He was vaguely hearing what Karin was saying, nodding along. "So what do you say, Toshiro?" The short captain kept nodding, all the while staring at the mesmerizing onyx ball.

"OH YEAH!" Karin grinned, very unladylike. She punched the air and sat down beside Toshiro, her legs spread out wide, as if she were a boy. Byakuya was reminded of Ichigo. His desire to get rid of the Kurosaki girl only multiplied as she began to mouth off to Toshiro, once again. It didn't matter to Byakuya; as long as she left and never tampered with Soul Society again. He really didn't think she would actually die just to come back here. Children would exaggerate, after all. He stepped out of the room and silently walked back to his office, followed by an unhurried, almost smiling, Yoruichi.

Toshiro watched Byakuya leave. At once, he spoke, "Help me up Rukia-san. I'm worried about Matsumoto, Ichigo, and the rest of them." Rukia stood up and came towards him, but instead, Karin lifted him up like a kid and smiled eagerly.

"Toshiro, c'mon! You can trust me! After your brain feels better, we can play soccer again right? That soccer game three years ago… I want to see who's better now!" She pulled Toshiro's small form onto her back and followed a stunned Rukia. "So, Rukia-san, where's Ichi-Nii and all those other people?"

As soon as the question had left her mouth, something crashed into the trees a few feet in front of him. Byakuya seemed to have appeared again. A redhead stepped out of the crash, followed by a worn out Kira, carrying Ichigo, who was still snoring.

oOo

Authors Note: I was ecstatic, yet distressed when I finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows today. I've decided that it's one of my favorite books in the series; on my top two with Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Anyhow, J.K. Rowling's lovely ending with Harry and Ginny having five children, naming them all after someone important in the series shocked me a little, but 'Albus Severus' made me laugh. Then there was Ron and Hermione, funny as usual, with their own children. And, of course, Malfoy and Scorpius… I wish there'd be a whole other sequel dedicated to the epilogue, but J.K's finished with Harry Potter, apparently. Honestly, it was a hell of a series; brilliant…

We've finally started with the action plot, and, yes, I won't forget romance in my desire to completely drive Soul Society insane…. (Maybe) –cough, cough- Anyway, I like having people favorite and story-alert me, but reviews really make me happier! Please R&R!


	4. You Like Her

Title: Guilty Nightmares, Devoting Kicks

Summary: Kurosaki Karin takes after her brother; short tempered, powerful, understanding, rude, yet determined. She's determined to become what her brother became by going to the shinigami academy in Seireitei, and then become a powerful shinigami, exactly like her brother. While she becomes prey at the academy with Kuchiki Rukia, her relief at the end of the day is with her friends. One of them, specifically, makes her happy; brilliant soccer player, Hitsugaya Toshiro. Hitsugaya's mind wanders from Karin to Hinamori, wondering what they've created in his life. Rukia's unfazed charisma is suddenly cracked open with the sudden announcement of Ichigo and Inoue's 'relationship.'

Pairings: Karin/Hitsugaya Hinamori/Hitsugaya Rukia/Ichigo Inoue/Ichigo

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach…Sadly…

Chapter Three: (Karin's POV) You like her…

"Ichi-Nii!" I realize as I rushed towards Ichi-Nii that I'd dropped Toshiro on the ground. Toshiro started spitting blood as I looked from Ichi-Nii to him, and back. Rukia had immediately bent down beside the kid and started feeding him some crank pills. Obligated, sadly, I bent down and lent a hand towards the white-haired child. After a few moments, I realized he'd been glaring at me, blood wiped across his cheek. Groaning, I articulated carefully, "He's my brother! And Toshiro, you realize that your body's covered in muscle, right? Wait a sec. I'll pick you up." The metal ball had been annoying me as I was walking. It kept banging against my knee, distracting and cracking every time it hit the bone. I pulled it out and set it on the ground, attempting to force it smaller.

It wasn't working. Toshiro noticed that after a few seconds.

"Pull your reiatsu back into your body and force it smaller at the same time."

"Huh?" I glanced up. Toshiro's eyes evaded mine, most likely because he was still pissed. Ignoring the rude gesture, I took his advice. It took too much energy to consume reiatsu. Shrugging carelessly, I threw Toshiro my baseball-sized, ashy-raven hued ball. Catching it in his right arm, he seemed unable to comprehend what I was telling him to do when I bent over with my back towards him.

"Get on." I managed to mumbled, feeling extremely ashamed. I was 13 and giving piggyback rides.

Toshiro seemed to be unable to understand, so I heaved him up onto my back, the effort almost breaking my ribs. "You need to stop working out." I gasped. Toshiro smirked and sighed heavily behind me. I had the sudden thought of dropping him again, before I realized everyone was crowded around Ichi-Nii. I painted/jogged towards the crowd, with Toshiro mumbling about 'decent piggybacks,' while breathing ice on the skin behind my back.

Rukia-san, Renji-kun, and a blond-haired man were all crowded around Ichi-Nii, I noticed. I twisted my head a few inches, so that I could see a few strands of white hair. "Hey, Toshiro, am I supposed to wait for Rukia-san and Renji-kun, or what?" My eyes were twitching instinctively as those barely perceptible locks of white hair started moving across my nose. Toshiro seemed to consider this for a few moments, as my knees started shaking under his weight. _God, you'__re heavy!__ Make a decision!_ "Toshiro! Hurry up!" Toshiro seemed to be taking a damn long time, and with a happy smile flitting across his smug face.

"Karin, you address me as Captain Hitsugaya. I'm a shinigami Captain, as you've probably noticed. Second, Abarai didn't come here to greet me; he came to make sure Rukia-san was safe, as I'm sure you just heard. Anyhow, Abarai and Kira will escort your brother and Rukia-san back to Division Ten's living quarters, where they, unfortunately, live. You are going to take me to the living quarters right now, unless you want blood in your hair." Toshiro seemed to be very arrogant about the last bit. He was correct though; I didn't want to have his blood and guts all over my hair. It would smell like a load of crap for the next few months, I suspected.

Nonetheless, I wasn't about to refer to a kid as 'Captain Hitsugaya' no matter what he'd done to achieve it. "Toshiro, I'll make you a deal. We'll have a soccer game; one-one-one; maybe Renji-kun, Kira-kun, Ichi-Nii, or Rukia-san can make three-on-three, but if your team wins, then I suppose you've earned the right to be called Captain Hitsugaya… If I win, you can call me Kurosaki-Senpai, alright?" I turned my head back around, so that the white hair wasn't getting in my eyes. "I'll admit that I hate being called by my last name, since typically, people want to be called by their first name, but since you're so headstrong about being called 'Captain,' then I'm going to be headstrong about being called, 'Senpai.' If it's a tie, then I can keep calling you Toshiro, and you can keep calling me… whatever."

I paused and thought it over a bit. It didn't seem fair for him to just call me Karin, since Toshiro seemed to annoy him. "You can make up a name, if you like. Would you like to play that soccer game? I'm not going to call you Captain Hitsugaya if you don't." I set him down, my arms felt like weights attached to my body. I was incredibly desperate to play a soccer game against him; to see how I'd improved over the years.

Toshiro's face was unreadable for a few seconds. Narrowing his eyes out of suspicious, he nodded very slowly. My smile was huge, and bowed. "Thanks, Toshiro!" I bent down again and gave him a signal to get on my back again. "Rukia-san! Toshiro says that Renji-kun and Kira-kun will take you and Ichi-Nii to where they live! Toshiro wants to get back there before he vomits on my head, so I'll get going!" I waved and nearly dropped Toshiro, who barked insults into my ear. "Bye!" I shouted at the four standing in a circle and started running cross the courtyard, following Toshiro's instructions to get to his living quarters.

I noticed Rukia-san turn around and give me a curious look. Renji-kun cracked a smile the same time that curious look was sent towards me. I looked up at Toshiro, who had decided that as a passenger on my back, he'd have special privileges; he'd started flicking my hair around as I was running, and whatever lock of hair he'd touched would freeze. My hairs' ends were already half frozen as I dropped his legs a couple of inches, shaking him out of his odd trance. His special privileges would come to an end.

"Hey! Who said you could freeze my hair? It's going to change color!" I stumbled in my rage and fell over, Toshiro's muscle-clad body making my fall much, much worse. My body slammed into the dirty pavement, practically knocking my jaw out of place. Toshiro climbed off my back and vomited a few feet away from my left leg. A guard emerged from a street, about six meters away.

The man was wearing the shinigami uniform and had a chubby face. He hobbled over my fallen body and bowed, "Captain Hitsugaya, what has happened?" The white-haired bastard climbed up, out of his begging position, and pointed to me. I moved my jaw back and forth, left-to-right. It cracked, and yet, I felt no pain. It kept cracking as the two talked in the background, discussing the 'vermin' lying down on the ground. I tried to control my anger, honestly I did. I blame my metal ball. Seriously. It just popped out of Toshiro's jacket's pocket and started swerving around the fat man.

Actually, the reiatsu started pulsing harder, faster, as my anger started rearing up. The metal ball started growing and radiating a silvery mist. It burned a hole through Toshiro's pocket, and then attacked the fat man. The ball of concentrated energy became a silvery mist as I glared, seethed actually, about that fat man. _That man could just stand there talking shit about me, while my jaw is cracking?_ The man was actually chuckling. I vaguely perceived a few sentences, 'A piece of illegal shit again… Captain Kuchiki actually talked to these _things_?! Must've been because she's got something to do with Captain Kuchiki's own sister and that idiot hothead, her brother. That piece of shit wouldn't stand a chance without those rebellious shits…'

It shot in loops around the man; around his head and working its way down to his ugly, fat feet. It started climbing again, now with more speed as Toshiro tried to stop it with his stupid goddamned freezing power. My anger built even more. _Now Toshiro was helping the fat man?!__After he'd insulted Ichi-Nii, Rukia-san, and me__?! Captain Kuchiki was a load of shit, acting like he had the authority to OWN me. That effing bastard. You don't insult __me__ like that! Go to HELL!_

The ball stopped abruptly in front of Toshiro's face; in front of Toshiro's tilted nose. In front of the fat man's chest. It detonated with a sudden screech; the screech of a racecar braking to swerve. The grey mist left the ashy sphere in an instant; the instant it exploded towards the fat man's torso. What it hit wasn't heated flesh.

Toshiro's freezing, rapid hand blocked it. The mist curled around his melting palm, then evaporated.

I gasped. My eyes wouldn't blink. My heart wouldn't beat. One beat here. One beat six seconds later. I couldn't breathe. My hand clutched my throat. My nerves weren't responding. Why was everything cold and hazy? I tried choking, moving, but all I could do was grasp for something in front of me. All the objects were appearing hazier, with only a few hazy outlines… A few minutes passed. Toshiro's hand was melting and deformed. His face was distressed. He was turning towards me. Even the faint outlines were fading now. Everything was cold. So cold my insides were beginning to burn… _Was this dying? I feel so cold. I can't move. I can't__ breathe. I can't see. Where's __my reiatsu? I feel like I'm dissolving… What's going to happen? _

I closed my eyes. That was it. I just closed my eyes, and let myself bleed from the inside. I didn't feel any pain. I felt broken and shattered and I couldn't summon the energy to care. I hurdled into death's open, greeting, arms with Toshiro's freezing breath beating down my neck.

oOo

It felt like a slap in the face when I awoke. I choked on my own spit, and started coughing the second I sat up. Something wasn't right, I noticed. I was lying on a bed in a large, fully furnished room. I piled up the evidence in my head quickly. _Either I died, and now I'm back in the real world, or Toshiro paralyzed me, and now I'm being kept in this world. That's great. It means I'll probably be able to stay a bit longer, if I was paralyzed. If I died… _I grunted and tried to flip my body out of the bed. Surprisingly, I experienced no pain. I slipped out of the room and wandered around. Outside was a spacious hallway, with three rooms on each side. I walked to the end of the hallway, where a light bulb was clearly shining through the cracks under the door. I shoved it open quickly and distinguished a hunched shape on top of a large desk.

"Toshiro!" I recognized the white hair on the kid captain. He jumped up at the sound of his name, and sat back down at the sight of me. He looked a bit relieved. "So, Toshiro, what exactly happened…? You froze my ball and then I sort of…." I shrugged, and glanced questionably at him. His right hand was clutching a fountain pen, and he started talking and filling out forms after a few paces around the room.

A quick glance up at me, and then a few signatures and checks on the papers he was working on, and he started talking quietly. "It's been four days since that incident. I completely obliterated that metal plaything that Urahara-san gave you. Yes, I know." He glared sharply as I questioned his intelligence. "That ball was an incompetent toy he used to test you… It wasn't supposed to be used as a killing weapon. You let that ball swallow too much of your reiatsu, and a section of your soul. I froze and demolished your soul when I froze and demolished that ball. Don't! Just listen! Sit down." I had jumped up at the phrase, 'froze and demolished your soul.' Breathing deeply, I sat back down and shoved at the fear that had just momentarily engulfed me.

Toshiro continued on, briefly pausing to flip in his pile of paperwork. "The guard was carrying a hell's butterfly, and I contacted Division Four. You remember Captain Unohana, correct? She worked through the remnants of your soul; the soul in the sphere. Some of it survived, but most of it was frozen and wasted. Captain Unohana decided to take you back to your gigai in Kurakara, hoping that your gigai would be able to take away the damage done to your soul. You were awakened once your soul was connected to your gigai, but you probably don't remember. Captain Unohana said that once you awoke, your body instantly started bleeding, and your skin turned blue because of your frozen soul. You died after a few hours of intense pain and restoration. Your gigai had to be burned. Captain Unohana performed the soul burial, and sent you back here. You won't remember any of this, since she swiped your memory of the last few hours of your life." I stared at him. There was an awkward pause.

I smiled, almost too confused to feel stupid. "Well… that's great. Now I can stay here and become a shinigami, just like I said I wanted, right? Ichi-Nii will probably get mad at me now…" I sighed and swallowed hard. "Ichi-Nii, Yuzu, Daddy…They're not mad, right? They'd be disappointed that I tried to injure someone… Toshiro; your hand's OK, right?"

Toshiro raised his left hand and unwrapped the bandages around his palm. "Burnt, but it's alright." He'd stopped writing to nod at me. "It's good that you're thinking about becoming a shinigami, even after you… your gigai died. Captain Kuchiki's requesting a meeting after you wake up. I'll set it up tomorrow morning. Tomorrow's Rukia's birthday, which means Ichigo's going back to Kurakara. As for your living condition, you and Rukia-san will be staying with me. Rukia-san will be going to the academy as well, and I take full responsibility of you, seeing as I… caused the incident." He coughed and I laughed, probably because I hadn't fully absorbed the fact that I was dead.

_Yuzu, Daddy, __I hope you're not sad…__ Ichi-Nii will tell you what's happening to me. I know you guys will be happy for me. Now I can protect you! _I lifted myself out of the chair and grinned easily, freeing myself of the sadness. There wasn't any need to go thinking about death and the past too much, or I'd be utterly depressed. "Seeing as you killed me? No worries Toshiro; you did me a big favor. Now I can go to the shinigami academy without making excuses… So, Toshiro, can you make this all up to me? Tomorrow, I want to play a soccer game three on three, with Renji-kun, Kira-kun, Rukia-san, and Ichi-Nii. I might not be able to play soccer again for a few years, so… Not to mention I have to get active again and start training! My whole death is waiting for me!" I smiled and chuckled at the thought.

Pulling my chair up to his desk, I glanced at the paperwork he was filling out. He seemed to be lost in thought, but groaned as I grabbed the sheet in front of him, and started reading it aloud. "Captain Hitsugaya and Lieutenant Matsumoto will take full responsibility in the protection, provisions, and all other minor details…. Yada, yada, yada… of Kurosaki Karin? The training and education will be…. Yada, yada, yada….. Authorization of the usage of weapon will be given on the following date… Weapon of choice will be given on the date the… yada, yada, yada. Authorization signature, printed name, stamp, and fingerprints of both Lieutenant Matsumoto and Captain Hitsugaya and required… yada, yada, yada…. Kurosaki Karin is required to sign as soon as… yeah, whatever." I sighed and placed the sheet of paper back in front of the kid.

I noticed a basket filled with balls of gold foil beside Toshiro's left foot, and raced for it. Unfortunately, I was too slow. Toshiro had lifted his foot and carried the basket along with it. Reaching up quickly, I managed to grab two foil-covered balls of bonbons. Unwrapping it carelessly, I pocketed the wrappers and popped one of them in my mouth.

Toshiro had rolled his eyes and returned to reading through the contract after I'd snatched the two bonbons. On the other hand, I was gazing at my chocolate covered fingertips and absentmindedly licked them. My eyes lingered on a few pictures taped on the wall. One had all the lieutenants and captains of the Gotei 13. I managed to find Toshiro, standing with a lady with huge busts. I guessed that she was Lieutenant Matsumoto.

The picture next to it was a photo of Toshiro, Lieutenant Matsumoto, and a petite young girl; her coffee-colored hair in a small bun, as the picture showed her sideways. There was a label underneath the picture. I strained, and managed to read the scrawled handwriting. 'Matsumoto and Hinamori.' Lieutenant Matsumoto seemed intent on posing like a model, while the pretty Hinamori was giving bunny-ears to an impatient Toshiro. There were four more pictures on the wall, other than those two; I'd counted. There was Renji-kun, Kira-kun, Hinamori, Matsumoto, and Toshiro posing in another; Rukia, Renji, Matsumoto, and Ichi-Nii all in front of the Kurakara park. There was a picture with a man I didn't know. His wavy brown hair was the same color as Hinamori's. His eyes were covered by reflecting glasses, and he was standing beside Hinamori; Toshiro was seated beside the two with the same bored look he'd had in the past pictures. In the label underneath the photo, Toshiro had written, 'Hinamori and Captain Aizen.'

The last picture was actually a postcard. There was a picture taped onto the postcard. The background seemed to be of the Tokyo tower at night, with lights illuminating the structure. Hinamori's petite form was seen, her smile graceful and feminine; something I'd never attempted. Renji-kun and Kira-kun were to her left, both wearing goofy smiles and looking drunk. To Hinamori's right was Captain Aizen. Hinamori was obviously looking at the captain with some sort of odd admiration and something I couldn't put my finger on.

It looked too creepy.

Ichi-Nii had told me that some guy named Aizen had been leader of the Arrancar, and yet, here was a guy named Aizen with Toshiro's friend. It was twisted.

I interrupted the silence with a blunt question. "Hinamori's your friend, right?"

Toshiro stopped writing for a second. Then, he continued with a grunt.

"Aizen was the guy who betrayed Soul Society. Why's he with Hinamori? Did Hinamori betray Soul Society with him?" I was too lost in thought that I didn't notice Toshiro's clenched fist, his knuckles growing white. I walked up to the postcard and read the neat handwriting aloud. "Tokyo's filled with Hollows, and we're so busy! Kira-kun, Renji-kun, and I have daily patrols, while Captain Aizen's uncovering the reason behind all these attacks. We visited the Tokyo Tower today and bought the postcard, as well as taking this picture… Well, we'll see you and Rangiku-san when we come back. Until then, Shirou-chan!"

My amusement lasted for a few moments. The room had dropped several degrees. I continued to talk, keeping my voice low. "Hinamori's your friend... She calls you Shirou-chan, so you guys must've been really tight. You want to know what I think? If I were a guy, I'd definitely go for her. She's sweet and pretty. Not to mention she seems to make friends easily. She's pretty special to you, isn't she?" I smiled again. "Well, I thought you were a lonely cold kid, but thankfully you still have a good friend." I walked back to the desk and watched his face lighten up, fists uncurl, and the temperature rise a bit.

"Where's Hinamori anyway? She didn't _seriously_ betray Soul Society with Aizen, right? I've gotta meet your _girlfriend_." I put special emphasis on 'girlfriend' and sniggered quietly, under my breath. "By the way, shouldn't Lieutenant Matsumoto be working through the paperwork? You're supposed to be all stressed, right?"

"She's locked up." He muttered extremely softly. I choked after realizing what he had said.

_Wait; was he saying Lieutenant Matsumoto__ was locked up? Or was he saying that Hinamori was?_

Toshiro looked up, annoyed about the interruption. "Hinamori was deemed an unnecessary weight for the Gotei 13. She was a painful representation of the Arrancar battle. It was voted that she would be restrained in a concealed location in Soul Society. Only a few members of Division Four know of her location, so they can take care of her. She's just going to stay confined until…" He sighed and went back to signing forms. An air of regret and helplessness fell over the office.

I bit my lip. I had figured it out, apparently. "Why don't you rescue her?" It was a direct question I probably hadn't thought out very carefully. "Ichi-Nii had gone after Rukia-san. Rukia-san was sentenced to death then." I lifted my eyes to the ceiling, proud of Ichi-Nii. Hinamori was… She was definitely a person worth saving, if Toshiro was acting like this for her. "If Hinamori's important to you, then you should go after her. Rukia was important to Ichi-Nii, so he achieved bankai for her. Why don't you just try to get her out of her confinement?" The solution was so simple. I was wondering why the hell he was so stupid not to try it.

Toshiro had raised his eyes to the ceiling, and was leaning his chin on his palm. He seemed to think I had found something on the ceiling worth staring at. In a cold voice, he uttered, "I'm a captain in the Gotei 13. I would be sentenced to death if I rebelled and went looking for a friend; a friend who's labeled as an insane sociopath. It's all lies to cover up the fact that she was infatuated with her captain, Aizen. It's a blemish that Soul Society wants to cover up, and in the future, completely erase. It's honor that the Gotei 13 was worried about when they made the decision to confine Hinamori. I have no say in what happens now. If she dies, then she'll be free. If not, then she may have some hope of coming back…"

I stared.

_He was trying to cover up his emotions now, wasn't he?_

An uneasy silence enveloped the office as I pushed myself back into the chair, still staring anxiously at the ceiling. Toshiro's vast signature's strokes were the only sound in the room for quite a few minutes.

"And I've been released from the bed for two days now. Matsumoto was deprived of sleep and sake for so long that she was starting to become dull. Not to mention she hadn't bathed or eaten a proper meal ever since I'd been limited to walking around my room. But I heard an awful lot noise from your room. I expect you were experiencing lots of pain from all the noise you were making. Rehabilitation from death was probably painful for you."

I stood up to leave, and then hesitated. I glanced around at the child captain, still signing and going through forms. I voiced quite clearly, "You like her. You like Hinamori; I'm sure. Don't be stupid enough to give her up if you like Hinamori this much. Ichi-Nii-"

Toshiro slammed his hand on his desk and stood up, glaring. "Don't compare me to your rebellious brother!" He controlled his voice, but I couldn't shrug off the resentment hidden in the phrase.

"At least my brother didn't give up on his friend. Hinamori was special enough to be able to call you Shirou-chan, and you give up on her, even when you know she's not an 'insane sociopath.'" I snorted and pushed open the door. Again, I hesitated. I couldn't leave him hating me because I'd insulted him. "But, you know what? It's your life."

Toshiro's silence encouraged me. I turned around, beaming genuinely. "Hinamori's your _girlfriend_! It's your decision, and it's got nothing to do with me! Remember, tomorrow you're going to face off against me in a soccer game! OK?" I waved and trotted off towards me room. His last expression wasn't of anger. It was almost close to being… amused. Slipping into bed, I nodded off, smiling. It was good that Toshiro was in love.

There was a bittersweet feeling too.

Hinamori and Toshiro… Were they a couple? What were they when paired together, really?

oOo

Author's Note: I'm so sorry about the late update, but my computer was taken away, I had less time, etc. I'm adding Hinamori into Karin's mind, and the soccer game and Ichigo's leaving is going to be in the next chapter. I swear, there'll be much more drama and (some) romance in the following chapter. Please review! It might not be incredibly long, but it'll be about the same size. Again, please review! I really like 'em!


	5. Messed Up Feelings

Title: Guilty Nightmares, Devoting Kicks

Summary: Kurosaki Karin takes after her brother; short tempered, powerful, understanding, rude, yet determined. She's determined to become what her brother became by going to the shinigami academy in Seireitei, and then become a powerful shinigami, exactly like her brother. While she becomes prey at the academy with Kuchiki Rukia, her relief at the end of the day is with her friends. One of them, specifically, makes her happy; brilliant soccer player, Hitsugaya Toshiro. Hitsugaya's mind wanders from Karin to Hinamori, wondering what they've created in his life. Rukia's unfazed charisma is suddenly cracked open with the sudden announcement of Ichigo and Inoue's 'relationship.'

Pairings: Karin/Hitsugaya Hinamori/Hitsugaya Rukia/Ichigo Inoue/Ichigo

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach…Sadly…

Chapter Four: (Rukia's POV) Messed Up Feelings

I'm a light sleeper, so when Karin-chan walked out of her room, I was almost instantaneously up. Bits of conversation reached my ears, and once I pieced them together, I'd come up with a conclusion. Karin-chan had found out about her death, and was somewhat happy about it. She had also found the pictures of Hinamori-chan and Aizen, not to mention the fact that Hinamori and Captain Hitsugaya had a certain relationship. But what really made me worry was that she'd found out Hinamori-chan was locked up. Karin-chan had actually started giving a lecture. She was comparing the situation to my situation, when Ichigo had rescued me from my impending death a few years ago. Then, she'd ended the whole situation quite nicely, saying she wanted to compete against him in a soccer game. The whole irony of the conversation was amusing, if not for the fact that the temperature in the hallway was rising and dropping randomly during the whole dialogue.

Once Karin-chan had been in her room for awhile, I walked over to the lit office, and knocked on the door. Inside, Captain Hitsugaya was filling out forms. I walked in and pulled up a chair opposite him. "Captain Hitsugaya; I was wondering about Hinamori-chan. Please don't get angry about Karin-chan. She's got Ichigo's reckless attitude, but Captain Hitsugaya… you shouldn't get all riled up over that. It's just in Karin-chan's nature to be a little nosy. Nearly all the captains in the Gotei 13 know that Hinamori-chan had an immense infatuation with Aizen, so it's only natural that she would've done and said. Could you tell me about Hinamori-chan's last few days before her confinement?" I kept my voice low, in case Karin hadn't gone to bed. I knew the facts about the confinement, as it had been big news, but I wanted to dig into Captain Hitsugaya's thoughts. A provoking question like that one would do the trick, I had thought.

The view from my chair was amazing. Outside, the moon was a low crescent, the stars flickering and disappearing as the sun started to come up. A movement came from above; on the roof. Captain Hitsugaya took this opportunity to leap up from his desk and avoid my questioning. Suspecting some disabled shingles on the roof, I reluctantly followed him. Carefully, I jumped onto the roof and landed, placing more reiatsu on my bare feet. Captain Hitsugaya had skidded ahead and was now glaring at a figure laying on the cold, dense, spirit particles.

Karin's tanned figure was laid out on the roof. Hands and legs spread out, she looked like an immature child. Her eyes were reflecting the moon and her face emitted the life of a kid that hadn't matured. She patted to the area beside her and asked childishly, "Rukia-san, I think the moon's much better in Soul Society. I hate the early mornings; I'm always cranky because it's another reminder of how many things I haven't finished. It sucks. I love the night. It's like a perfect ending to a day. Want to watch the moon set?" I looked over, for a moment, at Captain Hitsugaya's stern expression, and then sat down on the roof beside Karin-chan.

I'd never noticed the moon in Soul Society. I'd stared at it for a few minutes, but never as long as Karin-chan had told me to. Captain Hitsugaya hadn't moved since he started staring at Karin-chan's pajama clad, petite structure. I started up an awkward conversation again; whatever was going on between them had nothing that could be best provoked by the subject of Hinamori.

"Captain Hitsugaya, what's going to happen to Karin-chan's weapon? Nii-sama wants to have a meeting with Karin-chan about the shinigami academy, but since you're taking care of her, I suppose you should take her to get a new weapon. Karin-chan, what're you going to choose?" I watched her fingers twitch a little. I could only see the outline of Captain Hitsugaya and Karin-chan. They could've traded places, and I wouldn't have figured it out. Karin-chan didn't have any curves, although she was pretty damn thin. Her static hair was almost as messed up as Captain Hitsugaya's, but her expression, which was very vague, was so carefree. Captain Hitsugaya's face was turned towards the fading black sky, his eyes reflecting an austere sadness.

Captain Hitsugaya snorted after I asked the question. "It won't matter. Captain Yamamoto's placing her under my care until he finds another way to bring her back to the living world. Karin's soul was partially damaged, frozen, and demolish; she was taken back to the real world so her gigai would die, and not her soul. All we need to do is restore her soul using very dense spirit particles, and make a gigai. Captain Yamamoto has no intention of another Kurosaki staying in Soul Society, so don't get your hopes up. I wouldn't be surprised if Captain Yamamoto decided to swipe your memory of this place after he fixes up your soul."I cruel laugh entered the serene silence. Captain Hitsugaya was being very bitter about this…

Karin's smile seemed to have flickered a bit, but her eyes still reflected the stars; uncaring and free. "The wind is charred and the stars are faint; don't let despair in, for the heart will taint. My only wish is to be able to protect my family, and as long as I can see Hollow, I will harbor that wish." She breathed deeply and laughed. "I feel free out here! After seeing you Toshiro, I've always wondered whether you had ever had fun; ever been free. But if you'd never had fun, why would you long for it, you know? So…for the fun of it…" She leapt up and grabbed Captain Hitsugaya's shoulders and pulled him down onto the roof beside her. The captain seemed outraged for a few moments, but then started cracking up when Karin-chan tickled him, poking him in the side and under the armpits.

Karin-chan smirked as the stern look on Captain Hitsugaya's face turned into a childish expression of outrage and fun.

"Rukia-san, come on! Grab Toshiro's feet!" While I was pondering, Karin-chan had grabbed the captain's hands and hoisted him up. Confused, I grabbed the captain's two feet, and watched in amazement as Karin-chan attempted to pull him around on the roof. Due to Karin-chan's size, though, Captain Hitsugaya was pulled up and down, every time nearly hitting his head on the shingles. Karin-chan enjoyed the screams coming from him; I admit, that yes, I had to laugh quietly. After a couple of swings and screams, Karin-chan and I tossed Captain Hitsugaya down on the roof, and looked up at the setting moon again.

"See? I bet you could have a much better life if you weren't so uptight all the time. That's why I've worked out a plan! We're gonna get you a damn friend. " Karin-chan's body flipped over and mumbled, "Toshiro, you're a little kid. Act like it. Rukia-san…" My head tilted up at the sound of my name. After the exhausting exercise, I'd collapsed between Captain Hitsugaya and Karin-chan. "Everyone around here carries a soul slayer. How do I get one… do I buy it? You said Toshiro was going to take me to it…" She drifted off a little. Karin-chan attempted to stand up, but smashed her hand underneath her foot and slid, crashing the shingles. I gaped and rushed to pull her up. Captain Hitsugaya sat in the corner, fuming over what had just been done.

"Ichigo didn't tell you?" The idiot had probably never thought Karin was going to attempt to become a shinigami. "A soul slayer is the user's reiatsu molded into a weapon. You create it yourself, combining your spirit energy, making a very dense, reiatsu packed weapon called a Soul Slayer. For you to be able to create a Soul Slayer, we'll put you into a life-threatening situation, where you'll be forced to create it, or die once again. If you die, you'll be reincarnated, so it's not a joke. Captain Hitsugaya's going to supervise this simulation, since you're under his care. For special cases like you, they usually create different situations, so be prepared!" I smiled, wishing her luck. Karin-chan wouldn't die twice that easily, for sure.

oOo

The three of us sat on the roof from two to eight in the morning. Lieutenant Matsumoto's voice could be heard as she sang in her shower. Ironically, Karin-chan and captain Hitsugaya's eyes both began to twitch. When they both noticed they were doing the same thing, Karin-chan stuck up her middle finger and rolled her eyes back to the lighting sky. It was this rude gesture that forced Captain Hitsugaya's departure. I followed him, warning him about the meeting, until Rangiku-san walked out of the hallway, her hair wrapped in a black towel, wearing a large shirt and underwear.

Captain Hitsugaya didn't seem affected by this, as he walked right past without a second glance. I waved nervously and started preaching again. His pace was especially fast, as I had to jog to keep up with his pace. Inside the office, he started pacing around his desk and mumbling little phrases. My body was plastered to the chair, eyes curiously watching him while he talked. "No reply… approved… leaving… soul…" These words kept escaping his perplexing thoughts. The moment he stopped pacing was when Renji, Ichigo, and Kira stepped into the office; Karin was wrapped under Ichigo's armpit, with an expression of rage. His head snapped up right when Renji uttered the word, 'Karin.' His eyes seemed to glow an unhealthy red.

I stood up, and motioned for Ichigo to let go of Karin-chan.

Karin-chan's thin body fell to the floor with a thump. I glared at Ichigo's shirtless chest angrily. I wasn't as tall, so his chest was head-level. Cursing, Karin-chan attempted to crawl up and shoot everyone. Kira, Renji, and Captain Hitsugaya had started talking. I lured Karin-chan away from the group with a few calls of, 'Hinamori-chan and Captain Hitsugaya's story…' This phrase immediately caught her attention, and soon enough, both of us were on the roof again. This spot was like a magnet for Karin-chan. She let her feet dangle off the edge, her head facing the sky.

"Rukia-san, this mess that Toshiro's in… Why can't he just go rescue her?"

I had thought my answer over carefully many times before. "Karin-chan," I placed my hand on her shoulder carefully, afraid of what her reaction would be once I started with Ichigo. "Toshiro's duties as a captain in the Gotei 13 are more important to him than friendship, love, and feelings. That's just the way society works; he wouldn't have become a captain if he relied on emotions. Ichigo relied on emotions; he was reckless, and because of that, I was saved. There's always a slim chance that all odd can be defied, but in Captain Hitsugaya and Hinamori-chan's case, that slim chance has been crushed to… something microscopic. Soul Society wants to get rid of Hinamori-chan, but not to kill her. Killing her would diminish their reputation. Instead, there's a process in which a soul will be locked and confined in a space until they're reincarnated. This space was made by General-Captain; it's a place where the soul is slowly weakened and destroyed. It's hard for Captain Hitsugaya; I'm sure it is, but this situation is much worse than my confinement."

"They were friends, right? Why can't he just give up being a captain and save her? If they were friends, he shouldn't just sit here and let this girl die!" I glimpse at Karin-chan's face confirmed she was this naïve to believe this statement. So naïve, so young, and so much potential that harbored what Ichigo believed.

I swallowed, trying to conceal my momentary lapse. "Karin-chan, if Captain Hitsugaya went looking for Hinamori-chan, than one or the other would die. He doesn't search for her, because he fears what would happen to her if he did. It's not because he doesn't want to. It's just… Captain Hitsugaya wants Hinamori-chan to live longer. He hates himself for not looking, and he would hate himself even more if he looked and made her die. You understand?"

Karin-chan was rocking back and forth, trying to think clearly. Her eyes were closed, tight. When she spoke, her voice seemed confused. "So what you're saying is that he sits and waits for her death, which is when he'll feel better? It's an odd love, if you ask me…" She lay like that for a minute, and let her breath out sharply. Chewing on tongue a bit, she started talking again, this time more cautious. "Rukia-san, this is a hypothetical question…"

"If Ichigo went back to Kurakara and started dating Orihime, would you be happy for them? Isn't it the same thing? Orihime likes Ichigo, and Ichigo's pretty close to her. You're a shinigami, and he could be just a normal guy one day… He knows that it would be better for him to love a… living girl, not a shinigami. Would you be OK to just sit back and watch this whole 'love story' happen?" Twiddling her thumb in her mouth, I stared at Karin-chan's faraway expression. It had never occurred to me whether or not Ichigo would start dating Inoue-san.

Never.

Weakly, I managed to reply. "Well, you see… I'm just Ichigo's friend; I sleep in his closet, tell him when Hollow are around, but sooner or later he'll find somebody else. I wouldn't violate any more laws. I'll just come back to Soul Society and watch Inoue-san and Ichigo…have a happy life." I broke off and looked at the sky, wondering if that's really how I felt. Abruptly, my thoughts were interrupted my Karin-chan's loud voice.

"I like you more than the Orihime girl. You've got more nerve and more backbone. You could definitely support Ichigo when he's slacking off, now that I'm dead. And that Orihime girl… acts like she thinks I'm a freaking four year old! You respect me, and I like that…" She glowered at the shingles; I looked at Karin-chan happily. Sadly, I always had a thought that Ichigo would choose the safer life. Marry his best female friend, have children, settle down, and die happily. It was… a predictable lifestyle.

oOo

Renji and Kira escorted Karin-chan to Nii-sama after the meeting. Captain Hitsugaya was laying his head on his desk, probably napping, in his office. I was talking to Ichigo, with my thoughts on Inoue-san. He was telling me that Captain Hitsugaya had said that we were going to play a soccer game for the sake of his dignity. I had laughed and continued thinking, until Ichigo's hand brushed my forehead and declared, "Rukia; you sad that I'm leaving?"

My eyebrows raised, angry he would actually think I would miss _him_. An image of Inoue-san's smiling face erupted in my head, and I flushed as another picture of Inoue-san and Ichigo kissing under a Sakura tree blossomed in my head. I slammed into Ichigo's neck and breathed out a cruel, "I'm completely ecstatic about you leaving. And you know what? I'm very happy for those Sakura trees that have to look at you and-" My eyes snapped wide open and I backed away. "you and your big mouth…" I finished off lamely. Pissed, I sighed and stared up at the bright sky. "I hate mornings. Karin-chan was right. Nights make you feel much better."

Ichigo stared at the sky as well. I glanced at him, angry that he'd tricked me into saying that. I was dead; Ichigo and Inoue-san were not. It was fine if they got together and started a new life together. I was perfectly happy to see them do so. In fact, I would come to their wedding and stand right in front of them when they kissed. That was how happy I was.

Ichigo approached me, somewhat confused about my reaction. "Hey, Rukia, I know you probably love it here in Soul Society. Just watch over Karin, all right? I want her to heal properly so she can come back safely. If she's stuck here with Renji and Kira for the rest of her… life… death… I don't think I'd have a guiltless life." His

He didn't mention my name. That was very confusing… It wasn't like I wasn't going to be staying here.

"Hey! I live in Soul Society too! What the hell? I'm going to have to stay in Soul Society for the rest of my death, but I'm just too small in your life to be mentioned?!" He looked surprised for a moment, but quickly apologized and tried to cover up his mistake.

"Right… Well, Rukia, I always thought you'd stay with me. I'd have to hunt Hollow for a damn long time, right?"

"You have Ishida-kun, Chad-kun, and Inoue-san… I'll just stay with you until you're ready. If I leave, then you're independent!" I stuck out my tongue and bumped his head with my fist. I kept the mood lighthearted for awhile, until I realized Rangiku-san was pressed against the brick wall, gazing at us happily. She waved when she saw me staring at her.

"Soccer game, right? Captain forgot to include me so I'll be the referee. You guys seem to be unhappy. What's up? Did Renji and Rukia-san finally start dating, or is 'Strawberry' having a hard time letting go of Rukia-san?" Ichigo's face turned scarlet with anger.

"Rangiku-san, shouldn't you be with Captain Hitsugaya?"

"Yeah, Toushiro needs your help. He said he had to sort things three times to make sure you didn't mess everything up in his paperwork." A pissed Ichigo was glaring quite viciously at the pretty, large-chested lady in front of us.

Rangiku-san's angelic face glowed angelically. She waved the comment off and smiled widely at me, "He was too uptight about Karin-chan's arrival that he forgot about me. I just listened to the whole meeting and found out about the soccer game. Ichigo, you'll be with Inoue-chan all alone, without Rukia-san, right?" This comment stopped the whole conversation completely.

Rangiku-san's vanilla perfume wafted around us even after she left. I heard the word, "Hormones," come out of her mouth as she walked away, but it was distinct. The last thing I needed to talk about was Inoue-san and Ichigo's relationship, dealing with hormones and such. I was saved by a 'crack' sound coming from the building. Relieved, Ichigo and I ran through the hallway and opened up captain Hitsugaya's office. Standing in the center of the room was captain Hitsugaya, awake, and staring at his cracked table. The desk had been slice in half, frozen, and was now cracking to little shards. He was shaking, still hazy and flickering between sleep.

Ichigo smacked the Captain's cheek, and within seconds, Captain Hitsugaya was fully awake, his hand wrapped around Ichigo's neck. "Do. Not. Do. That." Captain Hitsugaya whispered hoarsely, piercing daggers into Ichigo's sweating face. He dropped his hand and walked into the office's bathroom, splashing water into his face. I hadn't thought that Captain Hitsugaya sleepwalked, or even fought in his dreams, but maybe, being his age, he still had that in him.

oOo

Karin-chan returned back, eyes wide, and shaking. Nii-sama was very scary at times, and Karin-chan was very scared. Even Renji and Kira backed away when she slipped through the crowd, shivering and grasping the knob to her room. Captain Hitsugaya only raised his eyebrow and returned to work. In a matter of minutes, though, Karin-chan had changed into her shinigami uniform, and was practicing her kicks and punts outdoors.

Giving a stare at Ichigo, Captain Hitsugaya walked out to the courtyard and picked up the punted ball. "Let's start, then."

Lieutenant Matsumoto's prediction came true. She was referee. Karin-chan and Captain Hitsugaya chose their teammates carefully. Oddly, Karin-chan chose Kira first, and smiled widely at him. He seemed quite comfortable around her. Captain Hitsugaya chose me without a second thought, claiming I was better to handle than Ichigo or Renji. Kira pointed to Ichigo, and Karin-chan chose her brother. Renji was obviously confused why he was the last choice.

The two goals were the two fences enclosing the courtyard and living quarters from the rest of the world. Karin-chan had taken the liberty to draw equally large boxes on each side of the fence, saying that would be the goalie's box. Flipping a coin, Captain Hitsugaya, smugly, got the kick-off. Karin-chan ordered her brother as the offence and Kira as defense. Captain Hitsugaya pulled Renji down to defense and himself as offence, forcing me to run everywhere as mid-fielder, same as Karin-chan.

Kira's defense was good, but there were definite cracks, as we had scored three points already. Renji was so used to playing offence; he had no idea how to block against Karin and Ichigo's kicks. He was careless, and a little messy, but by halftime, the score was three to two, us leading. Karin-chan was barking orders at Ichigo and Kira, determined to win. They had decided that Karin would play goalie, while Kira and Ichigo played offence, leaving her by herself. Captain Hitsugaya didn't change his positions and continued through the game.

The result of Karin becoming goalie was a success. For her, of course. Ichigo and Kira teamed up on Renji, making it nearly impossible for him to block the kicks. Captain Hitsugaya hadn't made a single goal since Karin-chan had become a goalie. She was fiercely determined on thwarting him, but I managed to make a few. The last few minutes of the game were amazing, though. Although we were down by one, the score being six to five, Captain Hitsugaya seemed to be resolute on his decision to win (or at least tie). Ichigo and Kira were celebrating their victory already, having lined up on either side of Karin-chan, not making a move to try and shoot more goals.

Karin-chan's smirk was unmistakable as I kicked off. This time, Captain Hitsugaya's moves were faster, a fierce look burning in his eyes. He slipped around Kira and Ichigo, narrowly missing Kira's foot. A few yards in front of Karin-chan, his foot started burning with reiatsu. Using his right foot, he knocked it into the air and pushed it forward, gazing at Karin-chan's figure. She was timing the jump she was about to make. Karin-chan wasn't even looking at Captain Hitsugaya. He had flash-stepped in front of her, and knocked her over, before she had time to reach her arms above her head.

The ball landed a few feet away from the goal, and silently, he pushed it in.

Rangiku-san stared, horrified at what her captain had just done. The clock rang loudly, and clicking it shut, she rushed over to the fallen figure. Without a second glance at Captain Hitsugaya, I grabbed Ichigo and Renji, and tramped over to her. Karin-chan had been pulled to the ground by her ankles, so her head had landed pretty hard on the ground. She seemed dizzy, and was talking very strangely. Walking unsteadily, she seemed drunk.

"Toushiro, I…had a ... little...l-little feeling 'bout that Hina... Hinamori thing… You love your honor and pride more….more than…" A hiccup escaped her throat. "More than love. Yup… That's why you just _freaking_ slammed me to the ground!" At this point, she seemed like a drunk and crazy little kid. "Forget what I said about rescuing her! Just move on, for God's sake! Forget about the damn person and move on! You're a messed up kid with messed up feelings, and you're going to mess everyone up around you!" She giggled and choked on her spit. "I win… right?" She gazed up at Rangiku-san.

Rangiku-san nodded her head quickly and tried to carry her back inside.

"How long until we have to leave?" Ichigo's voice pierced through the shocked silence that had befallen after Karin-chan had been knocked out. "I want to stay here until she regains consciousness." He pushed through all of us and followed Karin-chan into the hallway.

oOo

Author's Note: I'm a few days late with this update, but I've added more to the story. Romance has turned up, and next chapter will be from Shirou's point of view, OK? I haven't had time to really edit through everything, so if there's something wrong, please forgive me. I'm usually pretty good with grammar, but I'm not so good with time limits. I'm being rushed with my Chinese studies, so updates might be a little worse. Also, in the next chapter, Hinamori's going to be writing for a few paragraphs. Karin and Rukia have school starting; Ichigo and Orihime have their little 'love' going one, and so forth. So what about the Hollow I invented? It's been introduced, if you've been wondering. Please review! I freaking adore reviews, favorites, alerts, etc. But please review, alright?


	6. Interlude

Title: Guilty Nightmares, Devoting Kicks

Summary: Kurosaki Karin takes after her brother; short tempered, powerful, understanding, rude, yet determined. She's determined to become what her brother became by going to the shinigami academy in Seireitei, and then become a powerful shinigami, exactly like her brother. While she becomes prey at the academy with Kuchiki Rukia, her relief at the end of the day is with her friends. One of them, specifically, makes her happy; brilliant soccer player, Hitsugaya Toshiro. Hitsugaya's mind wanders from Karin to Hinamori, wondering what they've created in his life. Rukia's unfazed charisma is suddenly cracked open with the sudden announcement of Ichigo and Inoue's 'relationship.'

Pairings: Karin/Hitsugaya Hinamori/Hitsugaya Rukia/Ichigo Inoue/Ichigo

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach…Sadly…

Chapter Six: Interlude

Hey, all those people who've been waiting for the latest chapter…. Well, unfortunately, I haven't been able to post anything up since my internet was taken away from me. I'm really sorry! Also, I'm a little crunched on time! School's started, and I've got to practice drums, and piano for a competition, not to mention all the typical subjects and homework! I'm going to try to get my next chapter up in the next week, so I'm really sorry, once again! Also, I'm having trouble deciding which pairing I should go with as the story continues. You can review and tell me which relationship Ichigo and Toshiro go with, if you want to help me.

At the very least, Karin/Hitsugaya will end up with a friend/friend pairing, and Hinamori/Hitsugaya, I'll make very sweet and depressing. (Erg…. I'm a depressing person) I'm not so sure on the Ichigo issue. I know Inoue's a sweet girl, but Rukia's…. She's nearly part of Ichigo. So, please review and tell me what pairing I should go with. Thanks, and I'll hurry it up! Thanks for the support, ya'll!


	7. Love Has No Limits

Title: Guilty Nightmares, Devoting Kicks

Summary: Kurosaki Karin takes after her brother; short tempered, powerful, understanding, rude, yet determined. She's determined to become what her brother became by going to the shinigami academy in Seireitei, and then become a powerful shinigami, exactly like her brother. While she becomes prey at the academy with Kuchiki Rukia, her relief at the end of the day is with her friends. One of them, specifically, makes her happy; brilliant soccer player, Hitsugaya Toshiro. Hitsugaya's mind wanders from Karin to Hinamori, wondering what they've created in his life. Rukia's unfazed charisma is suddenly cracked open with the sudden announcement of Ichigo and Inoue's 'relationship.'

Pairings: Karin/Hitsugaya Hinamori/Hitsugaya Rukia/Ichigo Inoue/Ichigo

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach…Sadly…

Chapter Six: (Toushiro's POV) Love has no Limits

Ever since the soccer game, and Karin's words, I've had an ache in my chest. Matsumoto had carried Karin back to her room, and everyone had disbanded. Ichigo, Rukia, and Matsumoto were gathered around the hallucinating girl. Renji and Kira were filing through paperwork for me. I was on the roof, meditating.

No matter what Karin said, her words were always exact. I hated this girl. Everything she said always made sense. She always hit the bullseye about me. She understood everything that I'd said about Hinamori, and dug even deeper, until I was forced to push her away. People treated me with more respect than that! But the eerie element of everything she brutally, honestly, told me was that she was able to figure out what I hadn't figured out. I was selfish, and I knew that. I hadn't tried to stick up for Hinamori during the meeting; the meeting that was to decide whether or not she should be imprisoned. I had suffered through the meeting, and then, I had pushed myself into a pit of self pity.

Hinamori was the single most important being in Soul Society, for me. She was my friend, my first crush, and I'd betrayed her. That was why I was drowning in self pity and the horrible realization that I had actually voted for her to be confined. And Karin; Kurosaki Karin, with her incredible naiveté had figured this all out. She had figured out what my relationship with her was; how I betrayed her, my selfish acts, and everything I had tried to push away. I was still drowning.

Karin's words haunted me for hours, as I sat on the roof, meditating. Her blank expressions molded into Hinamori's face after awhile. Their cheerful appearances mirrored each other's; Hinamori with more of a soft bright glow, and Karin's with a hard, determined smirk. I had made so many mistakes with Karin; I had killed her, then revealed my thoughts and feelings about Hinamori, and then made her say those….those words about Hinamori and me. Simply put, Karin's soul would have to be put together quickly, so she could leave as soon as possible. I didn't feel like suffering in more guilt any longer. Especially after that freak dream I had, after the meeting.

oOo

_A radiant light reflected upon the cold, cold earth. A small figure was seated on the reflecting grass; her shape distorted and hard to make out in the harsh, sweet light. I moved towards the figure with incredible grace and speed; landing only a few inches away from her pale, perfect face. The fragile figure's face was pointed to the ground, a cloak hiding her petite body. She looked up, a pained expression painted across the normally sweet face._

_"Shirou-chan! Look at the grass! It was so beautiful! But then… the light made the ice disappear… It was so beautiful a few moments ago. It was dark. Then __you__ showed up. Shirou-chan, why do you always have to make everything beautiful disappear? __I thought you loved me… How can you love me, when I'm locked away?" Her tears sprinkled down upon the single blade of grass she held; freezing it, and her hand. _

_I reached out, to hold her hand, but it seemed that she was telling the truth. At once, her hand withdrew from mine, and she whimpered, and turned away. "Shirou-chan, you told me you'd help me out of this hell… Your love hurts. Go. Go and die!" She stood up, her eyes closed, her arm drawn out. Her arm had turned into a blade of ice, pointed directly at me._

_Hinamori's delicate face was angry and hurt. Silently, she moved towards me, as I moved away. Shrilly, she began to talk. "Shirou-chan, you __betrayed__ me! You shoved me away for your __pride__! If my value in your life was less than your pride, then please, tell me now!" Tears trailed down her face, creating a pale, god-like stature about the whole image.__The air around us turned from impending honey sweetness, to a brittle, electric azure. Her eyes turned towards me; determination wiping all other emotions off her face. _

_I was scared. I was guilty, and this interrogation was making me feel__ suicidal. _

_Hinamori towered over me, and with one word, she spat out everything I'd done for her. "Traitor!"__ A__s if in slow motion, her pale, almost-lifeless hand lifted my trembling face. Her other hand, still completely frozen came __smashing down on my__ cheek.__ My eyes glazed over, taking in the picture: Hinamori's perfect, crystalline tears, her painful, livid eyes, and the blade coming closer and closer… _

oOo

In that one second of realization of being a traitor, and knowing Hinamori had every right to kill me, I woke up, screaming like hell. I was scared out of my wits during the soccer game; keeping my composure in front of others was very difficult, seeing as I'd just had the single most disturbing dream about Hinamori. The recorded image of Hinamori's tears, and her anger towards me, fueled me during the soccer game. My emotions spewed out at the last few minutes of the game. I blamed Karin for my dream, unconsciously. She had made me feel so guilty that I'd had that nightmare. Karin had soiled Hinamori's perfection in my mind. That was how much influence I was letting Karin have over me. Now Karin was injured and I was going to be blamed.

It was all so sickening.

There was a shifting sound, and a leap behind me. Rukia-san appeared next to me, quite anxious. My body was facing the sun, but she sat down in front of me, blocking my view. Although she was clearly nervous and worried, Rukia-san was also somewhat compassionate and sad. "Captain Hitsugaya, you've been on the roof for a long time… Ichigo's saying good-bye to Karin-chan right now… You want to come down? Karin-chan covered for you, saying you were stressing yourself too much, and wanted to win." Rukia-san's violet eyes seemed to shine with admiration. "She really sticks up for you, Captain Hitsugaya… You want to say something to Ichigo before he leaves?" Her head tilted to the side, trying to get me to look at her.

Truthfully, I didn't understand Karin. She was more understandable than most females, but she was hard to read. She wanted to be my friend, but she also wanted to dig into my past; my horrifyingly scarred past. Ichigo would probably get pissed off once I started describing Karin to him, so I decided to take the easy way out. "Rukia-san, just deliver a message to Ichigo. Tell him: I'm working my thoughts out. I'll talk to him later." I shifted my position and watched Rukia-san bite her lip, walk a few steps, hesitate, and keep going.

I stuck my hands into my jacket's packets and walked to the section of the roof that was, supposedly, above Karin's ceiling. Leaning down, I uncovered a few shingles to create a hole. There was a thin layer before the roof would have a small hole, but sound waves travelled through the thin layer quite well. I pressed my ear to the hole, and listened. At once, I heard a conversation going on between Ichigo, Rukia-san, and Karin.

"Stress and work, and probably me. Look, Ichi-Nii, you know how I like to annoy people. Toshiro's just been one of my many victims!" There was a chuckle. "I was asking for it, ya know?" Karin's voice was unusually high and falsely cheerful. "Not to mention I said all those stupid things back there…"

Ichigo's voice was gruff. "It's good that you know how annoying you can be. Still, you're a girl. He shouldn't have tripped you. It's not polite." A snort came from the background followed by an uncomfortable, "I never tripped you!"

"Ichi-Nii! Who cares what's polite or not? It would be extraordinarily annoying if he were a gentleman! I swear, everyone expects a guy to be perfect, but the world would be freaking lifeless if you had that. Ichi-Nii, you, yourself, have to admit you're not exactly the 'perfect guy,' right?" There was an awkward silence after Karin's speech. I debated whether or not to take what she'd said about me as a compliment or an insult. I composed after a moment of contemplation, I decided that it'd come out more of an insult.

"Karin-chan, I see your point about Ichigo, but shouldn't it affect you at all about Captain Hitsugaya's actions?" Rukia-san's voice was light and concerned. It seemed as though she thought Karin was mentally ill, which was a likely possibility, considering she'd just defended me in front of her brother. Karin; the girl who seemed to go on and on about my selfishness and such. There was something wrong with the whole situation, but I kept listening.

"Oh, it's alright!" The cheerful voice was too much, especially for a girl like Karin. "Toshiro's just stressed! It's fine! We should be talking about Ichi-Nii, right? I'm just going to stay here until my soul's all patches up. Until then, I'll be with Rukia-san! And Ichi-Nii? Promise me you won't make any girlfriends…. It's really disgusting to think about you and some unknown girl making out…" I almost choked on the thought. There seemed to be no comments after her request. I gathered the excavated shingles, and gingerly placed them back in, hoping that they wouldn't notice the scraping sounds coming from above their heads.

It took awhile before I heard Ichigo and Rukia-san talking in the hall. Carefully, I crawled to the edge of the roof, and gripped one of the steadier, bonded shingles, and lowered myself down. Right beside me, as I dropped down, was Karin's bedroom's window. Inside, she was sitting on her bed, a towel draped around her shoulders, looking unhappy. I rapped on the window softly, but she was so startled that her leg hit the bed corner, and her eyes started to water, while glaring at me.

I waved and pointed to the window, indicating I wanted to get in. The heat outside was unbearable, especially for an ice-addicted person, such as myself. Karin hobbled over to the large window, unlocked, and heaved it open. The room's door was locked, bathroom door open, and the fan on. All in all, the room was fairly cool, Karin's hair's scent wafting around the room. I hated the smell of the shampoo; Matsumoto's 'Vanilla and Honey Toast.' The scent was overpowering and too sweet. Karin seemed to realize my distaste, and mumbled, "It was either this, or Renji's 'manly shampoo,' so unless you want me to smell like a 'manly man' then don't comment." Her tone was comical, seeing as she'd just stuck up for me.

I preferred to keep what I'd heard secret, so instead of insulting back, I merely nodded. She continued drying her hair, slouched on her bed, staring at me. The soccer ball from the game was underneath her left hand. Karin bounced the ball repeatedly, attempting to make me feel annoyed, or talk, or get some reaction. Out of curiosity, I started a conversation.

"How are your injuries?" I didn't actually give a damn about her injuries, but being the polite person I was, I decided to try to look concerned.

"Physically or mentally? My leg hurts like hell right now, and I'm missing Ichi-Nii; not to mention I'm dead, and you tripped me so you would manage to tie. This, by the way, didn't work, so you have to call me Kurosaki-Senpai, or I could call you Shirou. Notice I don't add the 'chan' like your dear girlfriend, Hinamori, whom you don't acknowledge. It's because I fail to see why you deserve my respect." She pushed me away from the bed with her foot, and made a pouty glare, which I found even more annoying than her typical expressions.

Cross-legged, pouting, and her cheek on the soccer ball, Karin almost looked like an ugly ceramic doll. Sighing slightly, she began to talk normally again. "So, Shirou, Ichi-Nii's leaving for college and that Inoue girl. I suppose Ichi-Nii's supposed to be attracted to those… _lumps_ on her chest, but Ichi-Nii's never been much of a pervert. Inoue's a great healer, but she's weak. Rukia-san's got the brains and the power. I hope… Ichi-Nii chooses the right girl." Out of the corner of my eye, Karin stirred a little in her sitting position. "Ichi-Nii's a sucker. He's a nice guy, but he doesn't understand how girls' minds work. Hell, I can't even understand! All I know is that Orihime's got a thing for him, and Rukia's his partner." My head was turned away from Karin, as I was examining the locks of hair that refused to stay in place. They kept falling over my eyes, making it extremely irritating to look over them. That was why, when Karin pounced on top of me, I immediately gasped at the weight and collapsed.

Groaning and controlling my anger, I lifted up the girl. Maybe it was because she had muscle from playing soccer, or just because she was fat, but Karin was very heavy. Her right leg was limp against my neck, while her left kept kicking. Pissed as hell about now, I slammed her body onto the bed and gave her an intense gaze. Karin's blank, innocent face kept me at bay from blowing a fuse; the same face that told me I had to calm down. I could beat the shit out of her when she would receive my training.

Karin chose this silence to open up a conversation about the whole 'Ichigo, Orihime, and Rukia Love Triangle' issue. Were sisters supposed to jab into their brothers' lives? Was that normal? I found it interesting; at least she wasn't telling me how perfect Ichigo was.

"Ichi-Nii's got hormones now. It's funny. He's always blushing whenever Orihime's around, and I think he's pretty sweet on her. It's so stupid, isn't it Toshiro? Doesn't he realize Rukia-san will leave if he goes and messes around with Orihime?" She pulled her limp leg closer to her huddled body and sighed again. "Are all guys that stupid, Toshiro? Given that you seem to be smarter than most guys, but you're still a guy. A guy without love, life, and pretty damn violent. Haven't you met Orihime? What's your impression of her?"

I found very few things that didn't seem like a perfect housewife in Orihime. She was timid, last to battle, and always kind-hearted. Even though she'd probably liked Ichigo for a long time, she'd suffered under Rukia's shadow. There was a reason, too. Rukia was a young girl with a tomboy attitude, at heart. She could impose herself on Ichigo and make him do everything she wanted him to do, without really trying too hard. Just for the heck of it, though, I decided to be neutral about this situation. Honestly, I think Ichigo should've chosen the one who could've calmed him down; Orihime. "Nice girl. Rukia's wild and just like Ichigo. Ichigo can't really have a real relationship with a shinigami, though. That is, unless he's willing to die. In which case, I discourage him." In my mind, I managed a 'Because I don't want another Kurosaki hanging around here.'

"I know, but love has no limits, right?"

"No….limits?"

"Yeah. You don't just stop loving someone just because they've left. Just because Rukia-san's dead doesn't mean that Ichi-Nii can't love her… When my 28 year old cousin was dying of cancer, and I couldn't help her, I didn't stop loving her. I called her a few weeks before she died, and she told me she was going to go on to a better place. I was only five, you know? I thought she meant going on a vacation, and I said I wanted to come with her, because Dad had said Mom had gone to a better place, like a vacation that would take a long time to come back from. I guess my cousin thought I was joking, because she told me that she'd take me when I was ready to go. I thought she meant that I was too little, because everybody was too little to understand what 'dying' meant." Karin paused for a breath and continued. Her eyes were misted over, as if she were caught up in this story.

"Yuzu was told that my cousin was going on a long vacation, too. I told my cousin that I wasn't too little and I wanted to come along. I thought she was blaming me for being too little, so I got mad. In the end, she told me she really loved me and all I'd have to do was wait for her. I hated it. I hated myself for being too little." Her head turned towards me. "Toshiro, does it sound familiar? Would you have saved my cousin if you could, or would you let her die? I would've saved her. I would've defied all odds to save her." Then, grinning almost manically, she jumped up and started tickling me.

"It was a joke, OK? Stop looking at me like that!" She broke off when I started tickling back. "Mean! You're not supposed to tickle me!" She was laughing so hard, there wasn't any sound coming out. It was amusing, even when she tackled me onto the bed and started poking the bridge of my nose with her toe. I, on the other hand, was throwing her pillow at her head, hitting the target every time.

Grabbing her toe and tickling it, she tried to stifle her shaking laughter, but it was all too visible. "Jokes make people laugh, Karin. That wasn't a joke." I smiled snidely, but was kicked in the stomach by her other foot.

"Put there was a moral, right? Love has no limits. Ichi-Nii can love Rukia-san if he's really devoted."In a smaller voice, I caught, "And you can love Hinamori if you want; you don't have to hide it." I scoffed inwardly; Karin was trying to get me to tell her my feelings for Hinamori. It was odd how much Karin was trying to just talk to me, and then acting like such a tomboy. She could've just been like a real girl like Yuzu or Orihime; timid, loving, and completely naïve, but she'd been so upfront that she'd killed herself, and was still pursuing this subject.

Why was she so persistent? Ignoring the nagging, shitty question that was tugging me as I glanced up at Karin's sweating face. Droplets of sweat trickled down her cheek, down her neck, and disappeared. I patted her foot and turned for the doorway. "Heal and get ready for school. We have a captains' meeting for the newly discovered Hollow. I'll see the rest of you in a few hours." There wasn't any sound as I walked out the door except for the constant patting of the soccer ball. For the rest of the night, Karin seemed to be contemplating while dribbling the ball around the room.

oOo

"The new Hollow has been traced to its origin; Kurakara Town. Reinforcements have been sent to track down where the Hollow has been created. There's only been one Hollow of its kind, according to Yoruichi-san and Urahara-san. This Hollow will take the souls of dead humans and merge it together with its own soul, and use the bitterness of the souls to seek revenge on the people who have wronged him or her in the past, whether or not the bitterness is small or large. What's disturbing about the Hollow is that it attacks its victims in their dreams or unconscious minds, weakening their soul. This Hollow hasn't produced any copies of itself, so it shouldn't be too much of a problem. We just need to be sure it doesn't harm any more human souls, and definitely not any shinigami souls." The speech was from Captain Yamamoto himself.

A black cat landed beside him and started articulating clearly, "Human souls are weak, but it's still enough nourishment to keep these Hollow alive and chasing more powerful victims. We haven't been able to figure out what the objective of this thing is, but if a Hollow could survive and grow so powerful with mere human souls, we have no idea what would happen if it took a shinigami away from us. This Hollow has a reason to kill, and our minds are most vulnerable in the sleeping state. Be careful." The black cat darted off the table and padded along until it had slipped out the door.

Captain Yamamoto nodded, agreeing. "Yoruichi-san will return to Kurakara in a few days to update us on data about the Hollow's movements. In the meantime, we have no idea where the Hollow is, and what it's doing now, so each squad must be careful. Captains, please warn your squads about this event. Also, we'll be addressing a few other issues during this meeting. The Kurosaki girl current status in Soul Society, the North Gate that leads to Earth has been having a few problems with transporting shinigami to the real world, spirit particles shifting due to electricity outages, and such."

I stood up and cleared my throat. The captains glanced up, bored and completely oblivious to my anxiety. "Let's start with the Kurosaki girl." My voice chipped off again as I cleared my throat. "From the Fourth Squad, we need to be sure about the Kurosaki girl's stable soul and her…" Even while I was reciting these issues on Karin, my mind was drifting off to the thought of the Hollow. Could Hinamori have been a Hollow in my dream, or was it my guilt? Had Hinamori already been killed, and her soul taken away before it was reincarnated into the real world? Either way, Hinamori was dead to me… If she was a Hollow and out to kill me, I probably deserved it.

Author's Note: Yup. It's finally here. The Hollow, and everything's building up. I can't promise when the next chapter's coming, but it'll probably be awhile. I've had a massively hard time adjusting into school, so forgive me. Please review and tell me what you think, anyway!


End file.
